Where there is light
by Inukisama
Summary: While travelling between worlds and searching for a means to save her dear brother's life, Philae gets herself in trouble when a dark beast throws itself her way. Her powers attract the attention of villains, and U.A High might be the only place where she could be safe. Or maybe she will be the one saving them. Rated M for cursing and (maybe) adult themes.
1. PROLOGUE

**Here's my fanfic on FFnet! :D**

 **The story is set just after chapter 96 of the original manga, so there might be some spoilers (I will try to indicate them as much as possible, but you've been warned). I'll try to follow the events of the manga, but there might be some modifications if I find them relevant for my own plot. I try to respect the characters' personalities and interactions, so I hop it won't be too OOC.** **English is not my first language, so I sincerely hope I did not make too many errors/typos/etc... so don't hesitate to tell me if I make big mistakes!**

 **Enjoy and don't hesitate to review ^^**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE – When the sun sets**

Philae could not help staring at his back. He was great in all ways possible, and yet he looked almost vulnerable, facing the darkness _she_ should have been fighting. His unwavering smile should have been warm to her, but instead she only felt dread and sorrow. She did not want him to disappear because of her. She did not want his protection. She should be the one protecting, this time, not the other way around. He might resent her for this, but she did not give a flying fuck. Not when it was _her_ fault they were in this mess.

In a desperate attempt to stop the unthinkable from happening, she launched herself one last time. The world slowed down around her. Things were a blur. Finally responding to her, her magic swirled and burnt her insides, surging from her in a blinding wave of pure power. She could not control it much longer than a mere seconds, but these seconds were just what she needed to end it all. She would stop at nothing to save them. It was her fault. She would make things right again.

She lost herself in the light surrounding her, her focus only on her enemy. She felt her cheeks wet with hot tears, but she could not stop them. Her heart clenched in her chest, pulsating painfully in her ribcage. She felt herself being torn apart piece by piece as she aimed. Her foe was waiting for her to strike, darkness engulfing him and clutching onto him. It rippled when she entered it and released all she had. She heard her name being called, but it was too late.

 _I'm so sorry_ , she wanted to say, even if he – they – could not hear her.

A roar, and a scorching beam of fire shot from her joined hands. A heart-wrenching cry answered her attack, and her tears could not stop falling. In the corner of her peripheral vision, she caught sight of a sharp feather aiming at them.

 _No!_

She did not know where she found the strength to move. She was drained of her magic, emotionally exhausted, and trembling like a leaf. But she did. Maybe it was her vow to protect them that did the trick. Maybe it was instinct. Or maybe it was because her subconscious self thought it was a nice, romantic way of expressing her feelings. Either way, she found herself in the way of the weapon. She felt the impact, the tearing sensation it sent in all her body, and she tasted blood on her tongue. She absently noticed that his smile had morphed into a horrified grimace, and it stung her that she was the cause of his distress, before everything went black.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1 – The world of all battles**

This world was crazy. But at least, she would not have to hide what she was, for difference was the norm here. There were so various quirks, people were all so special in their own, personal ways, that she felt she could act normal – provided she was careful with her powers –.

Philae sighed and looked up at the sky. She had dropped like a rock, like every other time she had travelled through worlds. She might have mastered this borrowed ability, but this bad habit of her falling from the sky never changed. Fortunately for her, she had landed in the middle of the night, and no one was around to see her plummeting like a bloody angel of death. That tiny miracle almost erased her tiredness and uncertainty, as she had no roof to sleep under. Almost.

She ran a hand in her long chestnut hair, trying to revise her options. Either she tried to find a facility for homeless people and stayed there until she was well enough to search for a better living arrangement, or she settled in a park to sleep on a bench like a stray. She highly preferred the latter. Nature put her at ease, and it was easier to dodge ill-intentioned people when surrounded by potential allies.

A loud bark snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked down on her first friend, Anubis. The black dog was jumping happily around her, his tail wiggling madly as he asked for her attention. Philae had found him behind a bin, in a dirty alley, and she had used the last of her energy to heal him out of his terrible shape. He had decided to follow her after that, and guarded her while she spent her first night in that same alley, too tired to go anywhere else. Smiling widely, she patted his head and continued along the street.

The pair was muddy, smelly and frightening at best, but she did not care in the least. Once night was back, she could go clean herself up in a pond or something, with a little push from her elemental magic. Hygiene was the least of her worries, even if it did bother her. The first was food, for her and her canine friend, and she did not have access to her money to buy some. She would have to ask for help.

Speaking of which, her brown eyes landed on a string of birds chirping on an electric cable above her head. Sparrows. Those little lovelies were small and frail, but when in flocks, they could carry quite a load. Perfect. Philae concentrated on them and whistled quietly to them. The tiny creatures stopped singing and tilted their heads towards her, listening.

Modulating her whistle, she encoded a message for them only. She asked for their help in finding edible food, anything from fruit to meat, so that she and her small charge would not die. She knew birds were quite amiable and helpful animals, crows excepted of course, and that they would try their best. And as if to prove her right, they did fly away chirping.

As she waited patiently, Anubis sitting at her feet, she observed the crowd bustling and buzzing with activity around her. People avoided her and her horrible appearance, but otherwise, they were quite funny to look at. There were all kinds of them: some looked normal enough, but other had colourful skin, or non-human appendices, and some were even animals walking on two legs! Compared to them, Philae almost felt mundane, with her elemental magic and animal bonds. But she knew these were her most harmless skills. She did not dare think of the others...

Anyway, she heard in conversations that those abilities were called "Quirks". As it were, most of the population of this world developed a Quirk by the age of four. A consequence of this was that criminality was quite high, due to the misuse of them, and there increased the number of "villains". To fight this, there were "heroes", like those she read about in her adoptive father's American comic books, only that they were a real deal here. Heroes were popular and their faces were plastered on every advertising surface, especially one bulky mountain of a man called "All Might". With his blonde hair slicked back on his head, his flashy spandex costume, and the huge smile he offered to his audience, his whole being screamed gaudiness. Maybe he was some sort of modern Hercules, a strong guy with womanising ways?

Philae suddenly caught the pitying look of a passers-by and, ashamed, she examined her tattered clothes and bruised limbs. Her purple tee and navy blue jacket were torn and bloody, exposing part of her wounded stomach, and her trousers did not fare much better. Her legs, though athletic, were not able to stand the impact of her landing completely, and her right ankle hurt. Maybe it was twisted? She needed a trip to the nearest hospital, once she was certain she could afford it. Also, her shoes needed to be replaced as they looked like they were going to fall apart at any moment. She sighed. Her stepfather would have had a fit, had he seen her in such a state. Luckily for her, he was not here to fret and whine at her darling rose looking like a tramp. Thank the gods for that.

Chirping caught her attention back to the flock coming her way. The sparrows flew to her at high speed, only to drop the load they were carrying in her hands. Paper. Intrigued, she examined what it was. Maybe her instructions were not clear enough? However, her eyes widened when she recognized the banknote she was holding. A thousand yen, as it seemed. How the hell did they find money?

Gulping, she tried communicating her question to the birds, which had taken back their place on the cable. Where did they take it from? Surely they did not steal it, did they?

Chirping. No. They found it on the street, under a stall. They went under a great deal of stress and pulling to get it out and away, before the human standing next to the stall noticed what they were doing. Philae was abashed. Not only did the creatures _know_ money could buy food, but they endangered themselves to get it to her. Stolen or not, she just could not throw it away. Her stomach rumbled to support her decision, and she thanked the sparrows for their trouble. She called Anubis to her and set off to a shop that would sell food to them, and possibly look for a hospital. Her ankle really hurt.

Philae hummed in appreciation as she bit into a melon pan. This was a treat she could eat non-stop, and she blessed Japan for this wonderful creation. Anubis was happy devouring a cold piece of meat, lapping every single drop of juice he could let slip in the process. They had found shelter under a tree in a quiet park, away from prying eyes, and neither of them was ready to move from their spot in a long time. The warm Spring sun peeped through the leaves and kissed their relaxing bodies, and a little breeze kept them from being too hot. She might be homeless for now, but at this very moment, Philae could not bring herself to care. She was at peace.

A booming sound resonated in a neighbouring building, and the earth shook violently. Both started and got up in an instant, on high alert. What was going on?

The smell of smoke invaded the air, and screams could soon be heard from where there seemed to be something huge going on. Anubis growled. Something was coming their way, and Philae remained on high alert as she rounded the tree and peeked cautiously.

There it was. A dark mass of muscles was moving steadily on the cracked road, people fleeing from its position as soon as they caught sight of it. Squinting, she noticed that the humanoid form had four arms of equal enormousness, each almost as thick as her whole body was. Its eyes were listless and twitching restlessly, and its aura sent shivers down her spine. It looked like a glorified puppet with the lethal power of an atomic bomb, judging by its physical built.

She did not know what its business was, but it most certainly was one of those villains. And yes, soon there was a bunch of costume-clad heroes running after it, trying to stop it with various skills. But it was no use. It was as if the dark puppet was unconcerned by the blasts and kicks and punches thrown at it, and it continued advancing towards her and Anubis. Bad news.

Philae could not stop the lump forming in her throat. Had the thing – or its master – sensed her arrival and decided to check out what she was? Or maybe it was looking for something else entirely and she was just on its way?

To confirm her theories, she motioned to Anubis to stay put and ran behind a nearby tree, and then behind another, inching herself away to the left of the beast, watching its reactions. The eyes stopped twitching and focused on where she was. _Crap._

As if it only needed to locate her, it jumped and bouldered towards her at full speed. She only had a millisecond to get out of the way before it crashed into the tree and redirected its charge. In the blink of an eye, it collided with her and sent her flying, Anubis' yelps of distress following her. She landed hardly on the concrete floor, next to the unmoving body of a knocked out hero. Was it a tree-man?

Philae's instincts finally kicked in and her body went on autopilot, as she jumped back on her feet and dodged another charge. A growl echoed in her head and asked for release. Her right arm tingled where her tattoo glowed.

She faintly heard the yells of the civilians and the calls of the guys who had been fighting the monster, but they sounded so far away that she did not know if they would be of any help at all. A low growl came up her chest and out of her throat before she could stop herself. She had to take it on on her own.

The puppet turned its head in her direction and raised its arms, hitting the asphalt with crushing power and sending huge pieces of concrete into the air. The earth rippled under her and inflated, and burst with a blast. She yelped and nearly got herself buried under it all, if not for her instant reactions that got her out of the trap. She could only try and dodge while she searched for something that could harm the black Hulk in front of her. It was set on killing her, and those idiot heroes looked as powerless as she was. Way to go.

The rumble in her chest intensified and demanded that she listened to it. A whisper became cry to her ears, as the spirit of her oldest ally made itself heard.

 _Release me_ , it said, _let me tear it to shreds._

Honestly, Philae did not know if she would be able to use so much energy just after she travelled worlds. Her survival depended on it, but still. She could be consumed in the process if she was not careful. And she was in no condition for a careful summon.

The cry turned into a full roar, and she winced. She blocked a wide blow directed to her middle and went flying again. She knew it was only a matter of minutes before she was spent and defenceless. In her peripheral vision, she caught glimpses of people and flashy costumes surrounding them, worried but unable to help. She hoped that Anubis was out of the monster's reach.

Just as she thought herself at her limit, she suddenly picked up a faint whine coming from behind her, in the ruins of what should have been a flower shop. It was definitely human, and very young. Someone, a child, was trapped under the concrete remains of the building, calling for help. If she dodged again, they would be crushed by the sheer strength of the monster. Her whole being shook with refusal. She could not let that happen.

Her resolve reappeared, and she straightened herself. Her whole body hurt. Her head was spinning as if she was in a bloody roller-coaster of hell. Her stomach was churning and aching. Her ankle was probably swollen like a ripe watermelon. Yet, she did not care. She could not let an innocent die by the hands of this beast. She would succumb before it ever happened, especially if death was initially coming here for her.

Her fighting mode made everything unravel in slow motion. She saw the puppet launched at her. A gigantic mass of muscles and darkness hurled like a mad train. Unstoppable. But she would try nonetheless. She crossed her arms in a defensive stance and prepared for impact, her feet planted firmly into the ground. She called the remnants of her magic as the roar of her summon echoed endlessly in her skull.

It was a bone-crushing sort of contact. Literally. She felt her arms snap under the pressure of the soulless body against hers. She contained her scream though, and stood with all her might. She knew she was slowly sliding backwards, little by little, but she refused to give in. Her back creaked and her lungs burnt, suddenly deprived of air. But the whine she had heard, and the image of a child needing her protection, made her hold on.

Finally, both stopped moving. The beast was looking down at her, as if unsure of how to proceed now that it had reached its target, and tentatively raised an arm to smack her. It did not have the time to land a single blow. Panting, Philae released all the magic she had left in her body, and her tattoo blazed alight. With a roar, she freed the creature that had so desperately asked to draw blood.

The air rippled and tore. A reptile body appeared above them, glowing and crackling with red sparkles of magic. A long, brownish red dragon lowered its massive head and hovered over its prey with a sickening chuckle, white razor fangs glistening in the light. Philae felt exhaustion seize her as her summoned ally came to this world to fight.

The serpentine creature roared its mightiest, deafening roar, and the monster hunched under the air pressure. Then, fangs bared and threatening, he lunged at his enemy and snapped his maw shut around its torso, effectively lifting it up and throwing it away like a rag doll. When he let it go, he caught it mid-air with a blazing sunbeam fire. The attack drained the last drop of energy Philae had, and she fell on her knees with a pitiful moan. The puppet crashed in the cement a few feet back, writhing and smoking. Yet it stood up again, albeit slowly. The dragon breathed an angry growl as he vanished quickly, his summoner unable to maintain him any longer into this world.

Anubis ran to her and whined. She felt him lick her face, and she heard a commotion coming her way, as well as a booming voice stating that everything was fine, but she could not take it any longer. She prayed for the innocent person to be okay until help arrived, as unconsciousness claimed her and she hit the ground.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2 – Dragon Lady awakes**

She woke up with a start. Her body ached as she slowly came back to her senses. _Fuck_ , that was horrible. She groaned and hissed angrily, feeling like a herd of bulls had trampled all over her. Her back was as stiff as a wood board, and thousands of needles were piercing her arms and ankle. _At least I'm feeling them, now_ , she mused humourlessly.

Philae cracked open a tired eye. Her blurred surroundings were white and smelt aseptic. Hospital? That was the most plausible explanation. The question now was: how did she get here? Surely she did not teleport herself. Maybe one of the heroes of whom she had taken the place had taken pity on her and carried her smelly body here. Given her state when she collapsed, it might have been better for them to have fought the monster instead.

She chuckled inwardly at her dry joke, and regretted it immediately when a wave of pain crashed on her chest. Nausea threatened to knock her, too. Great.

"Ah, good, you're awake."

The stranger's voice came from her left and startled her. She hissed again as her body jerked, glaring at the... cat in uniform? Was she hallucinating, or was there really an animal standing on two legs at her side? Her eyes widened, and her brain finally provided her with the memory that in this world, there could indeed be humanoid animals. So this guy was normal. No drug involved. Her furry visitor took her bewildered look as a sign for him to explain his presence.

"Officer Tamagawa, Miss," he introduced himself curtly. "Do you understand me? Blink once if you do."

Grateful for not having to voice anything when her throat felt like sandpaper, she did as requested. Yes, she understood. He nodded and proceeded further.

"Good. Do you remember what caused you to be at the hospital?"

She blinked again. Yes, she remembered quite well having to fight a huge, mindless beast while heroes and civilians watched her struggling, thank you very much. The policeman did not seem to sense her annoyance and continued.

"Yes, that will help us greatly during the investigation. As you may know, interfering with heroic interventions using one's Quirk is strictly forbidden, for the safety of the civilians as well as that of our teams. I'm here to keep you under surveillance, until you're able to answer our questions and provide us with your version of the happenings. Please understand that we do this for your own good, as we try to understand how you ended fighting a dangerous villain on your own. Besides, the absence of identity file suggests that..."

Philae stopped listening. _Wait... what? Surveillance? Am I a criminal, now?_ She could not believe her ears. If she had not used her "Quirk", as he put it, she would be a red blotch on the asphalt by now, and even worse, an innocent would have died! How could she be expected to do nothing? And speaking of said heroes, she wanted so badly to tell him about the way they stared and did nothing...

Unfortunately, she could only groan and glare at the officer, trying to convey how offended she felt. He might have understood, but showed nothing of it.

"I'm sure you want to tell us how you see things. For the time being, focus on your healing and resting."

She groaned again. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head and her anger melted into anxiety. If she was in here, where was Anubis? She lost interest in the walking cat entirely and tried to look for the dog. He could not stay in her room, could he? Please, let him be okay! Misunderstanding her reaction for a stress-induced fit, Tamagawa tried to pin her down, calling for help. A nurse sprung into the room with a needle, and Philae outright panicked and trashed.

"Please, calm down!" the policeman yelled at her. "Nobody's going to harm you, Miss."

"N... Nah..."

Getting words out of her burning throat felt like a nightmare, but it was still less frightening than the horrid syringe aiming at her arm. She did not want any needle to pierce through her skin ever again. She had had too many nasty experiences with those.

"Miss, please, calm down, or we'll have to sedate you."

"N... No... P-pleasss..." she stuttered painfully. Why did they not understand?

Eventually the nurse stabbed her with her glass weapon, and Philae's head buzzed unpleasantly with the sedative she got injected with. Her grasp on things loosened, leaving her a handful of seconds to send a betrayed look at the policeman, before her consciousness faded again.

The lab door opened swiftly and let a tall man enter. Philae knew he was coming for her. It was time for her "subduing" session, as he put it. Every single day, at the same time, he would drag her to a table. She would see the needle penetrate her bruised arm, and then she would lose control over her own body. Little by little, he would ingrain in her the words of submission, the orders she would have to obey without a second thought. From time to time, she would then be put into an arena in front of a robot, and she would have to put what she had learnt into practice.

She was five at the time, and she was not a good behaving child. She would always be punished for each of her misdeeds. It did not matter to her, as long as her brother was safe. He was obeying dutifully and was an example to all the other experiments. But if Philae behaved too badly, he would be beaten in her place. She did not want that. She tried her best to muzzle her resistance. She tried with all her might to prevent him from being punished.

The man would sometimes praise her when she did good. He would give her a nicer meal and a pat on the head, like she was a pet. Then he would throw her back in her cage and would not return until the next day, at the same time, with his syringe and sick smile.

When she finally could get away, she had made sure that he would never get to smile again.

The next time she arose from her medicated slumber, Philae only thought of her poor canine companion. She might have been lying in that bed for days, and she was certain that her dog friend would not be cared for in the meantime. Was he alive, at least? Could she hope that?

She slowly opened her eyes, feeling at least a little better physically. Her body had stopped aching all over. It only tingled in some places where her injuries had been worse than others. She was thirsty, though. She would kill for a glass of water...

A monitor beeped next to her, and she turned to look where she had last seen the cat – Tamagawa, was it? –. The officer was not there. In his place, a nurse was monitoring her vitals, and she smiled when she saw her patient awake.

"Good morning, Miss, I'm glad to see you finally awake."

Philae blinked and nodded slowly. She successfully sat up against her pillow and tentatively raised a hand to point at her throat, hoping that the nurse would understand. She needed water, could she have some? She was satisfied to see her message got across. The nurse clapped a hand on her mouth and gasped.

"Oh, of course! You got rid of those horrid tubes yesterday, no wonder you're thirsty! Here, I'm fetching you a glass of water!"

Philae nodded appreciatively and waited. When she could finally get the crystal ambrosia down her throat, she almost cried with relief. She cautiously tried forming a word and croaked a "Thank you" to the now beaming nurse.

After she had been checked for any problem, she was left to her own devices. She tried asking for Anubis, but as expected, she was only told that animals were not permitted in the building. Hygiene precautions. Of course. Anguish and sadness squeezed her heart.

After some time debating whether she had the right to rip her catheter off and get the hell away from this huge mess, someone knocked on her room door and entered. A normal-looking man appeared at the foot of her bed, a hat clasped in his hands, and he bowed at her smiling politely.

"Good morning, Miss. I'm Naomasa Tsukauchi, in charge of the investigation department. I was advised you were going better and would soon be able to enlighten us with the events that got you in this situation. Do you feel you could...?"

He did not finish his sentence, but Philae understood what he meant. Was she ready to get interrogated? It did not really matter, and she shrugged.

"S'pose now's as good as ever," she answered simply, clearing her throat to speak with a normal voice. "Ask away."

"Very well. First of all, I'd like you to decline your identity. Part of the reason why you were under surveillance is that we cannot find any file on you. It's like you never existed before some days prior. Maybe it was erased from our database, or maybe there wasn't any in the first place, but either way, we don't know what to do with you and it raises questions about your intentions that day..."

 _So that's what it's all been about._ As she came from another world, it was true that they could not find any trace of her existence. Therefore, it seemed only logical that the police thought she was an underground villain or something. The realisation did nothing to calm her anger flaring at the thought of being suspected of crimes she did not commit, but well... could she really say the truth? Quirks and supernatural events must have been common knowledge for them, but someone travelling worlds? Was it not too far-fetched?

Naomasa had sat down and was staring intently at her, sensing that she was hesitating. Philae mentally sighed when she realised he could see through her lies if she tried. He was from the police. Maybe his Quirk consisted of seeing truth from lie. She took a steadying breath and decided to be honest.

"I'm... er... My name is Philae Crawford, born Thatch. I'm a naturalised American citizen thanks to my adoptive father. My biological parents passed away when I was very young. As for why you didn't find me anywhere... I'll try to put it simply and please, please try to believe me: I'm from another world, another dimension, and my identity back there does not exist here, for I was not born here but there... you see?"

Silence was all she got. Naomasa's gaze did not leave her the whole time she spoke, making her truly believe he could read minds and see lies. She said the truth, though. A very simplified version of it, but still. Nonetheless, she began doubting as silence stretched between them, and anxiety made its way up her chest. But finally, the detective opened his mouth.

"I see," he said simply, "though I find it hard to believe. May I inquire how you were even be able to... come here? Is it a Quirk that you have?"

Philae licked her bottom lip nervously. That was going to be a long conversation.

"Well, yes, and no. This ability was... lent to me. A friend of mine, let's say, allowed me to travel worlds in order to succeed in my search for something, and I'm expected to give it back to her once I'm done."

"Is that so?" He arched an eyebrow at her. "What abilities do you have for yourself, then?"

Oh, that was going to be a funny one.

"Um... where do I start? Huh, okay, first, in the world where I come from, Quirks are simply called magic. So, in that perspective, I have elemental magic linked to fire, mostly, and a bit of the other three, though I don't control them that well. Then, I have bonds with nature, especially flying creatures, reptiles, and most predators." She enumerated while raising fingers. "Also, I can summon dragons of all kinds to help me in battle. Well, it's not as easy as it sounds, I have to make a sort of contract with them, otherwise they won't be fighting willingly for me, but in theory I can make them fight if I really want to. In fact, as soon as I make a contract with a dragon, I can use their ability as it was my own: fire, bonding with nature, and so on. I've dealt with three of them, so far, hence my having three different skills. Besides... let's just say I have a thing with everything a dragon can do, including physical assets."

"You mean scales, wings?" the policeman tried to make sure he understood. _Just what sort of superhuman is she?_

"Yes," she confirmed, smiling sadly when she caught the feeling behind his veiled eyes. "I'm quite a freak, ain't I?"

"N-not at all! I'm just surprised," he tried to reassure her. "Fire and bonds with nature make two skills, what is the third?"

"Erm, well..."

She hesitated, fidgeting. Should she tell about this? This was probably the reason why the puppet attacked her in the first place, if its master knew of her power – given all the possible Quirks, some of them unknown to the police, it was highly possible one could give its user access to such knowledge –. Still, this could also put her directly to jail, if Naomasa thought she was too dangerous. The detective sensed her worry and straightened himself.

"Please, do continue. I can assure you everything you'll say will be in your favour, as sign of your willing cooperation."

"Easier said than done, really... okay, how do I say it. I can... er, I can blast things with solar energy. I.. I can draw energy from the sun and cast it on whatever I please, often resulting in my target melting into a puddle, or disintegrating completely. Don't ask me how I could ever meet a dragon with such power, I hardly know myself." That was her first half-lie, but she did not want to broach the subject just yet, and the policeman nodded to show he respected her silence on this particular subject. For now. "Anyway, I think the monster I fought against was after me because of that. I'm not saying I know for sure, mind me. It's just... a hunch. Theoretically, I could turn the planet to ashes, if I felt like it and had enough energy in my body to do so. That's a great deal of power, you sure have realised by now."

 _I'm sure any villain would greatly enjoy having my power_ , she thought grimly. _Others already have just thinking about the possibility of it happening._

Philae chased these thoughts away. She watched Naomasa as he was typing hurriedly on his phone. When he finished whatever he had been doing, he turned back to her, face unreadable.

"That's a lot of information to digest, yes." He put his phone away and rested his chin on top of his joined hands. "But I think it explains a lot of things. How many dragons do you know of?"

"I'm not sure. There must be a dozen of them? As many as there are elements and primary sources of power in the universe, I suppose: electricity, fire, earth, water, stars... I didn't push myself too much in that direction, and I sure didn't ask. I barely control my powers and it's dangerous enough as it is..."

"Okay, okay, I get it. And how can you summon them, if you cannot go through the separations of the worlds on your own?"

"Again, I'm not sure..." She sighed and raised her right arm at eye level, where he could see a red tattoo slithering around her limb. "When I make a contract with a dragon, this appears, as a token of the link established between us. As it seems, it is some sort of... er, magical bridge? Yeah, a magical bridge between the worlds, so that I can summon them anywhere." She lowered her arm and continued pensively, "Kai – my elder brother – once told me only our family had it in their blood, the ancient connection to beings existing only in our legends, until they descend upon earth to cause mayhem. I guess it's very much like your Quirks, really, if you think about it. You've never seen a power like mine before, but if it were the other way round, your colleague, Tamagawa, would have been a strange sight in my world, unless he was a human with werecat-like powers. But human before all, and with the ability to turn into an animal. Although I must admit magic is quite rare where I come from either."

"I understand. You're unique in your world, too, then."

It was a statement. Philae nodded slowly.

"Yes, although my adoptive father keeps the sharks at bay, and very few people know of what I can do. Knowledge of that sort is too dangerous."

The detective, nodded, seemingly preoccupied with something. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Well, let's say the Noumu – that's how this kind of monsters is named, by the way –, was sent to you, to get you to its villain master. You fought it because you did not know of our world's laws forbidding you to, am I correct?"

She agreed.

"Yes. I just wanted to escape it, really, but then I heard this child under the rubble, needing help, and I was the only one close enough to prevent the beast from harming them... So I acted instinctively. I had to protect them from harm. I couldn't let them be hurt."

She stopped her babbling and chided herself mentally for sounding so silly. Yet Naomasa took a sharp intake of breath, his eyes suddenly alight with realisation. He eventually nodded and smiled.

"I see. Thank you for your testimony."

"I... I know I shouldn't have... but I couldn't... Oh, gods almighty, I know I sound crazy, but it's the truth! I'll go to jail if I must, but please don't think..."

"I believe you," he assured her. "I can see you're telling the truth, even if your tale has been unheard of so far. Don't worry, you won't go to prison for that. It'll take a huge amount of paperwork, and you'll probably have to face the press at least once, but other than that, you're clear to me."

"Oh..."

Philae found herself stupid. Naomasa smiled his first true smile.

"Now," he said standing up, "I will inform my hierarchy of your situation. Please let me know if you need anything. In the meantime, we will forward some documents to you, to sort your identity out and provide you with actual papers. I'll come back to gather some more details, but it can wait. Please, take care of yourself..."

"Wait!" she shouted all of a sudden. "I... I'd like to ask you..."

"Yes?"

"Did you... did your colleagues find a black dog, on the scene where the fight happened? It's my friend and... and I couldn't bear to know he... he..."

She could not say the word "died". She did not want to think about this possibility. Naomasa understood and shook his head.

"Not that I know of. But we'll have a look, if the occasion arises."

"Okay..."

She deflated and looked down sadly. She silently prayed the gods her companion was okay.

The detective left after that. As promised, Philae received an enormous stack of forms to fill out, so that she could get identity papers sorted out. Tamagawa came back to ask her if she knew where to live after she got discharged from the hospital, to which she answered that she had absolutely no idea whatsoever. She would probably look for a job once her papers got ready, and find a not too shabby apartment. The humanoid cat nodded and let her be.

After two or three days doing nothing and getting impatient and fidgety, Philae was finally announced she could be discharged. To her surprise, Naomasa showed up with clothes for her, her identity papers, and an offer.

"I asked around to see if I could find you a place to stay, until you did what you had to do. I suppose you won't be staying very long?"

She shrugged uncertainly.

"It depends if I find what I'm looking for, or not."

"May I ask what it is?"

"You may." She sat down on the bed. "I mentioned my elder brother, Kai, last time. You remember?" He nodded, and she continued, "Okay. He lives in the world where I come from, and he's dying. He's... He has great powers too. I won't go into details, but because of a... a trauma he experienced, his body cannot contain all his magic anymore. His symptoms are close to that of an implant rejection, only that he did not get any. I'm trying to... to find something, or someone, that could heal him. The damage on his body could be mended, so that it does not reject his magic anymore, or he could find someone to share his magic with, anything that would lift the pressure he's suffering from. Euther way, I'll try whatever I can to find a solution. He needs me."

"You hope to find a Quirk that could do the trick, then?"

"Yes. If such a Quirk existed, that is."

"We'll see, then. What about you?"

The question took Philae off-guard.

"Me?"

"Yes. You told me your brother suffered a trauma which disabled him partially by weakening his body tolerance towards his magic, if I understand correctly. But Tamagawa told me about your panic attack, the first day you awoke here. He told me you were afraid of syringes, and that once sedated, you mumbled incoherently about a lab and whatnot. If my intuition is right, then I assume you also suffered from some trauma, maybe the same as your brother. You yourself admitted that you have difficulties reining your powers, and find them dangerous. Hence, my question: what about you? Is your body capable of containing your power?"

She was speechless, unable to reply to him. How could she, when he nailed everything she had been worrying about all those years? He quickly back-pedalled and apologised when he saw her crestfallen expression.

"My apologies, I shouldn't pry like that. I went too far."

She needed some time to regain her composure, and when she did, she eluded him with a wave of her hand and a wavering smile.

"I'm fine for now. It's not me that's important."

She meant her words. Her brother was all she cared about, and she would not let herself rest before she could save him. Damn the consequences. Naomasa studied her face for some seconds and finally sighed.

"Right... Anyway, back to what I was saying. I asked around, and an old friend of mine got an idea. Do you know of U.A High?"

"I'm afraid not."

"It's a rather prestigious academia for aspiring young heroes. I know the teachers and the principal there, and they accepted to keep you for the time being. I know it sounds rather peculiar, but they are the best compromise between your goal and ours. We must keep you on close watch and protection, in case more villains try to reach out to you again, and the teachers there are pro heroes who would be able to offer both things. Plus, if you wish, you may get a deeper knowledge of this world and train regularly with young, motivated students..."

"Wait, are you saying what I think you are?"

She was baffled. The detective only smirked.

"Well, you do have great skills, and even if it's out of the villain's reach, I must confess we'd like to make sure you'd be willing to support and help our cause should the need arise... There's a huge shitstorm coming our way, and I'd like to think we'd be able to find an arrangement beneficial to all. We need all the allies we can find."

"In other words, you'll help me look around for information concerning how to help my brother, and in exchange, I'll stay at U.A High to be watched and become some kind of hero sidekick?"

"Why only a sidekick?" he grinned, "Let's train you into a full independent hero, if you wish to!"

The idea got her excited, somehow. She could become a hero, flashy costume and all, and help Kai in the meantime. Who would not be thrilled? It sounded fun, why not give it a try? It could not be worse than her adoptive father dressing her in frill and corsets, after all. Naomasa beamed at her.

"I see you're on, if your smile is any indication. Good. I'll give you a lift, then. Principal Nedzu and my friend are expecting you. They can't wait to meet the Dragon Lady everyone's been talking about lately."

Philae started.

"The... what?"

She frowned at the detective, who only smiled.

"Dragon Lady. That's the name the press came up with, when word of your impressive show with the Noumu spread like wildfire. Very fitting, I say, now that I know about your Quirk."

He laughed at her incredulity, and she eventually shook her head smiling. Great, now she had a pseudonym without even asking. This world seemed set on making her a hero. She would gladly accept her fate, then.

* * *

 **And this is it for the second chapter!**

 **As you've probably seen, this is going to be a slow burn kind of romance, and the background of Philae needs some time to be shaped.**

 **I hope Naomasa's not too OOC _**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3 :)**

 **From now on, new chapters will be published every Friday or Saturday.**

 **I remind you the story is set after chapter 96 of the original manga, so there may be some spoilers from now on (minor spoilers won't be highlighted, but bigger spoilers will).**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3 – A smooth settling in**

Philae had already seen gigantic things in her life. Hell, her adoptive father being a big hat in the entertainment industry, he owned a bunch of the tallest skyscrapers on earth himself, for offices and whatnot. The young woman had often had the occasion to enjoy a nice elevator ride up fifty floors to go see him on his lunch breaks, and it was just in one of his smallest buildings. Orion Crawford was a wealthy and busy man, showing his greatness to the world in the form of his magnificent concrete and glass altars to the financial deity.

He also had the tendency to covet frilly things and cartoon cosplays, glittery jewellery and barks of refined laughter, but this was only in private, of course. One could think he was quite an odd fellow, mostly not dangerous, but still prone to fits when pushed enough. Philae had often seen him go into grand gestures of generosity as well as near madness, even though she knew he was sane – or as sane as a wealthy thirty-five-year-old widowed man could be –, and that he always kept a large space for her to be doted in his crooked heart. Strangely enough, she was actually one of the few human beings in 3D that he seemed to be affectionate and... well, human, to – the others being Kai, his bodyguard, and a jerk of a young, ambitious businessman, whose icy glare made her highly uncomfortable every time she had to see him –. Anyway. She thought that she could not be impressed by those shows of outrageousness anymore. Clearly, she could.

U.A High was nowhere near common. The best word to describe it would be _fudging massive_. The school was fenced by a tall concrete wall that, according to Naomasa, could raise even higher defences should there be any attempt at trespassing. The grassy fields of the property were neatly mown and vibrantly green, and the building itself was all brightness and elegance. Everything screamed wonder and greatness. Philae and the detective walked along a large alley lined with stone busts of heroic figures, to the main entrance of the academia.

They went through a succession of corridors and steps without encountering anyone. It was mid-morning and the students were all in class. They eventually arrived in front of a wooden door, whose name plate read "Principal Nedzu", on which Naomasa politely knocked. Yapping answered him and Philae's heart leapt at the sound.

"Come in!" someone called loudly from behind it.

The door opened to a large office, and a black furball bolted from the inside to greet them. Anubis jumped happily around the pair, and Philae gasped joyfully. She bent down to pet the dog's clean fur and let him lick her face. After a few minutes, during which she stayed there outside while Naomasa went in, she finally straightened herself and entered as well, her companion trailing closely behind her.

Before the back wall, a mahogany desk and a leather chair occupied a big chunk of space. On their left, a cosy sitting room had been created, with nice leather sofas around a low glass table. There were already two people in the room, and one of them had got up from his seat to shake hands with the detective. Gazing at him for the first time, Philae realised it was another furry animal on two legs, but she was not sure if he was a mouse, a dog, a tiny bear, or a new breed entirely. He was wearing a classy suit and greeted them with beaming politeness.

"Ah! Good morning, good morning!" he exclaimed to both of them. "I'm delighted to see you both." He turned to Philae and his smile grew even wider. "And here's our new soon-to-be heroin, Lady Dragon! I hope the name doesn't bother you, we found it very nice and couldn't let ourselves erase it."

"Ah, no, it's... fine," she stuttered uncertainly, still overwhelmed by her reunion with Anubis and the sight of the mammal Principal. The latter opened his arms wide.

"I'm most happy to hear that! Welcome to U.A High, Miss Crawford. I'm Principal Nedzu, and no, in case you're wondering, I'm not a new breed. I won't tell you my secret, though, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the unknowing world, would it?"

He punctuated his tirade with a wink, and offered his paw for her to shake. He was quite short in stature, his head reaching her stomach, and she found him incredibly cute but refrained from saying it out loud. It was too improper. Instead, she shook his paw and greeted him as if he was one of Crawford's associates.

"Good morning, Principal. I'm pleased to meet you in person. But please, drop the Miss Crawford. Call me Philae."

She did not despise the honorifics and other marks of politeness per se, but she preferred the more relaxed, Western way of addressing people, especially by people higher than she in the hierarchy. Nedzu seemed to think the same way and chuckled.

"Alright, Philae it is, then. Oh," he suddenly realised when looking behind him, "I apologise, I didn't make proper introductions. This is one of our teachers, Aizawa Shouta, best known as Eraserhead. He will be in charge of your settling in and surveillance."

Philae looked up to meet the bored onyx eyes of a lanky man, sprawled carelessly on the sofa and looking disinterested in the whole conversation. He was wearing some sort of ninja outfit, with goggles and long strips of cloth around his neck. When his name got called, he raised his head a little and nodded in her general direction, standing up slowly. He eventually offered his hand and, once she had shaken it, returned to his place without a word.

 _He looks like he's punished_ , Philae thought embarrassed, _I cannot blame him, though. I feel like I'm being babysat._

Principal Nedzu continued on, chatting away happily.

"Of course, you already met the little fellow," he said, indicating Anubis who sniffed his paw quizzically, "we had word you were looking for him, and in fact, he was also looking for you! Officer Tamagawa spotted him near the hospital you were at, trying to get inside when he thought the security staff wasn't looking. I couldn't let both of you so sad being separated, could I?"

"Oh," was all she could muster, relief washing over her. "You needn't have to do all that..."

"Say nothing of it," he replied dismissively with a bright smile. "As long as you respect some home rules, you shall be able to keep him."

Philae wanted to hug him for his kindness. She felt she would love this fluffy Samaritan. He proceeded back to the sofa and went back to the main topic at hand.

"So. We learnt of your interesting Quirk, and we thought Aizawa would be most capable of keeping you in check if need be. His Quirk erases the Quirks of others, although we will have to test it on you, as the strange circumstances of your being here are creating quite a precedent. Anyway, if this doesn't work, we'll surely find another way of guaranteeing your protection and surveillance." He clapped his paws together. "Would you be so kind as to let us test his Quirk on you?"

"Er, yes, of course," she accepted quickly, "but what would you want me to do?"

Nedzu chuckled.

"Nothing too dangerous, but visible nonetheless. I read in your file that you could do anything draconic. Why not show scales, or something of the like?"

Scales? She had not tried in a long time, and hers were kind of discreet, the gods be blessed. But fire was fine. She hummed.

"I can try breathing some fire, if you wish..."

"Perfect!" Nedzu motioned to the sofa across the grumpy looking hero. "Please, have a seat. We'll have plenty to discuss after that. Do you want something? Tea, coffee? Detective Naomasa, can I offer you some refreshment?"

Philae plopped as graciously as she could on her assigned seat, Anubis sitting at her feet yawning, and she looked up at Naomasa, who kindly refused the offer of the Principal.

"I'm afraid I must go, Principal. Work needs my attention..."

"Of course! We'll take care of things from here. Thank you for your help, and please let me know if I can be of further assistance."

The policeman smiled.

"I will," he said, before he turned to Philae and produced a card from his coat pocket, giving it to her. "Here's my number, in case you need anything. I believe you had a mobile somewhere in your belongings, yes?"

She accepted the card and nodded.

"Yes. It's a miracle it survived the Noumu, but it did. Will have to subscribe to make any calls, though."

"That will be taken care of," Nedzu assured with a wave of his hand. "You're to be one of us, now, and I'll be damned if any of my students doesn't integrate the way they should. We'll help you settle as swiftly as possible, I promise you."

Philae could not help but smile largely. Satisfied with her situation, Naomasa then excused himself and went out of the room, his soles clacking faintly down the corridor. Nedzu went to accompany him outside. Once there were only Philae and Aizawa, the brooding teacher spoke up.

"So, your Quirk," he began suddenly, nearly startling her.

"Huh, yes?"

"Try to make a small flame, to begin with," he ordered.

She nodded and concentrated. She reached deep in her soul, trying to access the boiling source of her power. She touched the link she had created with the dragons, and it hummed softly. A purr greeted her contact and curved towards her. She modulated the influx of energy and called for fire. Sparks sprang and fire soon swirled at her demand. She took in the power and felt it well up in her body, directing it to her throat.

Carefully, she opened her mouth in a tight O, and blew out a short orange flame. She focused on it to keep it even, and stopped a moment to catch her breath, casting a quick glance at the teacher to see if this was okay.

Aizawa hummed appreciatively.

"Good, that'll do. Now, look at me and do exactly the same thing."

Philae acquiesced and did as he said, her gaze not leaving the teacher's face for a second. The apathetic man was watching her with dull interest, while she formed the O with her mouth and was beginning to blow. Suddenly, his eyes flashed red, and his straight black hair floated lazily around his angular face. Surprised, she spurted and let all the air out in a single puff. She panicked for a second, certain that she had burnt down the table and carpet to ashes, but found that she had only blown air the instant Eraserhead's eyes had changed colours. His Quirk had worked.

Immediately after, his eyes turned back to their normal onyx colour, and he leaned back on the sofa. The principal had come back in the meantime and clapped softly.

"Awesome! It seems this is settled, then, Miss. You'll be assigned a room and go to class first thing tomorrow morning, yes? Now, what can I offer you? We have papers to fill out, and much to discuss, so that you can become a fellow student in time for your first lesson. Tea, coffee?"

Still amazed at what she experienced, Philae turned dumbly to Nedzu.

"Er, coffee would be very nice."

"Noted. Aizawa?"

"Same," he replied curtly, huffing.

She left the Principal's office an hour later, her head ready to explode with the amount of information she had just been bombarded with. Aizawa grumpily accompanied her and Anubis to the dorms, where excited chatting could be heard. Her teacher – for she was now was officially a student at U.A – showed her a new bedroom, wherein she quickly put down her meagre belongings, and went to knock on the door just next to hers.

A young girl with auburn hair and bright brown eyes opened to them and gazed inquiringly at her. They were roughly the same size, and looked around the same age, about seventeen, even though Philae was way older if she counted from her actual birth – which she did _not_ , and in her head, she was still a teenager anyway –. The girl gasped and turned to Aizawa.

"Uraraka," he said to her, "this is Philae Crawford, a new student here. She'll be in your class from now on, to become a hero at an accelerated pace. I wondered if you could show her around the school and help her settle in."

It was not really a question, but Uraraka did not seem to mind her task. She beamed and thrust her fist in the air.

"Of course, Professor!"

Satisfied with her answer, albeit a little befuddled with her energy, he grumbled an excuse and went away. Alone with her new classmate, Philae felt herself blush slightly.

"Hi," she began, "nice to meet you..."

"Nice to meet you too!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Name's Uraraka Ochako. And awwww, who's it?" she asked when seeing Anubis.

"That's Anubis, my friend." After a pause, she added, "I'm sorry you have to take care of me..."

"Nonsense! I'm happy to help," she countered easily. "I'll show you the dorms and introduce you to the rest of the class. I can accompany you to class tomorrow and show you around the school then, if that's alright?"

"Yes, that would be perfect."

Ochako nodded energetically.

"Alright. Do you have your uniform?"

"Oh, yes, I put it in my room," she gestured towards her door, "but I'm afraid I'll have to do some shopping, as I don't have many clothes to spare..."

"How so? Did you get robbed or something?" she asked horrified.

Philae laughed.

"No, no, that's... a long story, actually. I'll go into details later, but let's say I lack everything and, you know, I'm not into this kind of stuff, so... maybe you could help me get outfits, show me where the best shops are...?"

She had received a small pension to help her get through her basic needs, but she hated shopping. She did not care about her looks, really, and preferred the company of books, films, and video games, over having a huge closet. She figured it would be a nice way to bond with her female classmates, though, and if Ochako's sparkling eyes were any indication, she got it right.

"Yes! Definitely yes! We'll make you super awesome in no time!"

"Who's going to be super awesome?"

The question came from a door further down the corridor, and a girl with black hair and clad in pyjamas came to them with mild interest. Ochako introduced them.

"Oh, Momo! This is Philae, our new classmate. I'm going to show her around and help her do some shopping. She has nothing to wear, do you imagine?"

The evening went by quickly after that, with everyone progressively coming back to the dorms and introducing themselves. Aizawa had told them of her arrival and succinctly explained that she was not from here – whatever "here" was supposed to mean to them –, so she had to give some explanations about why she was here, where she came from, and so on. As it were, the students took her story in stride, with only a few 'oooh's and 'what's punctuating her sentences.

Maybe being raised in a world of Quirks helped their open-mindedness. Philae eventually found herself sitting in a sea of cushion in the main living room of the dorms, surrounded by smiling faces. She chatted with Ochako, a spiky redhead called Kirishima, and a shy green-haired boy called Izuku. The latter asked her tons of questions about her Quirks, seemingly unsatisfied with her vague answers.

"Midoriya," Ochako interrupted him, "you'll have plenty of occasions to see Phi's Quirk, you know."

Phi was Philae's nickname back from her world, and her new acquaintances quickly took on the trend. She had insisted on it, as they tended to use family names to address each other. But being called _Crawford-san_... Ugh. No, not in a million years.

"She's right, man," Kirishima added, "chill! She's just arrived and you're already on full hero fanboy mode. Don't scare her away so soon."

Izuku stuttered an apology, and Philae smiled sympathetically.

"That's alright, Midoriya, I'm not offended. In fact, I'm quite happy to share info with you, I didn't have many occasions to do so in my previous home. Maybe later, if you want..."

He offered her a timid smile in return and agreed.

"That'd be awesome, thanks!"

Stomping and a loud slam sounded in the corridor, followed by a string of curses. Philae started and Ochako sighed.

"Can't he show some restraint at least once?"

Kirishima chuckled.

"That's Bakugou for you. I'd be worried if he was anywhere near delicate."

Izuku nodded solemnly to that, and Philae got puzzled.

"Who're you talking about?"

"Ah, that's Bakugou Katsuki," Izuku offered quietly, "a childhood friend of mine. He's... hot-tempered."

"You think?" another boy behind him with a grape-like head, Mineta, scoffed. "He's bat-shit crazy, you mean! He nearly barbecued you on your first practical exercise!"

"Barbecued?" Philae wanted to know more. If this Bakugou had some fire Quirk, that was interesting.

"Ah, he didn't really mean to hurt me," the poor boy tried to defend, "he got carried away."

Kirishima snorted.

"Right. He's a saint with flowers sprouting from his ass. Seriously, even if I respect him as a man and classmate, he's a potty mouth on his best days."

"Whatever you're saying, fuck-head?!"

The interested party stormed into the living room, his red eyes wild with anger. His sand blonde hair stuck in all directions, and his palms emitted crackling and smoke. His nicely built arms and torso glistened with sweat, and a few girls made disgusted sounds when his stench reached their nostrils. He had obviously trained hard and smelt like a locker room after a rugby match, and his natural scent of musk reeked of testosterone.

He was looking Kirishima down, as if ready to strangle him. Short-tempered he was, alright. Philae half-giggled, half-grimaced, and Bakugou's attention snapped to her.

"Who're you?" he grunted gruffly, "never seen your face 'round here."

His aggressive tone made her bristle, but she forced her lips into a polite smile. No point in being unfriendly.

"I'm Philae Crawford, but call me Phi. I'm new here. Nice to meet y-"

"Don't care," he cut her rudely with a condescending glare, "I bet you're nowhere as good as me, so I don't care who you're fucking are. Stay out of my way."

Philae's eyes twitched in annoyance, and her draconic link hummed. She felt something stir unhappily on the other end, and she repressed the urge to let hell loose. She wanted to settle in smoothly, not cause trouble.

"Kacchan," Izuku tried to calm him down, "don't be mad. She was trying to be friendly."

"Yeah," Kirishima teased with a sly grin, "don't get your pants in a twist because she's pretty and you weren't the one to see her first."

Philae sputtered and flushed, not ready to be praised in such an indirect way, and even less to be dragged into an upcoming disaster. Her link tensed in anticipation. Bakugou, stunned for a few seconds, suddenly looked ready to explode.

"The fuck you say, shithead!"

Unimpressed, Kirishima burst out laughing, only to have his classmates tensing slightly as the blonde teen gritted his teeth. Izuku looked frantic as he desperately tried to appease his fuming friend.

"Please, Kacchan, don't..."

Kacchan snapped.

"Shut you face, Deku! You fucking don't tell me what to do! This shit is none of your fucking business, so you loser step back!"

If Philae despised one thing, it was unfairness and rudeness towards those she appreciated or considered her friends. Izuku did not deserve that. Instinctively, she got up growling, her link to her dragons flaring with her growing anger. The air shimmed and rippled around her, causing the others to gasp and take some steps back. All except Bakugou, who noticed her movement and smirked.

"Take that back," she ground through clenched teeth, struggling against the growls in her head that tried to get the better of her.

She silently hoped that the guy would give up and take his chance to avoid the confrontation. No such luck. If anything, he got interested to find out what she had up her sleeve.

"What? You wanna defend the loser? Alright, come!" he taunted.

That was it. Philae lost her grip on the feelings assaulting her, some of them not her own, and the link ignited and crackled. Bakugou sensed the change in the air, but he did not have the time to take a fighting stance, for the air tore in the blink of an eye. The head of Philae's summoned creature appeared in his line of vision, and the temperature in the room got suddenly warmer.

It was the source of her fire powers, a slender and angry black male wyvern whose sharp golden eyes darted a menacing glare at the young man. Opening his mouth wide, he let out a screeching roar that could shatter concrete, although he kept it low enough not to destroy the entire building.

The sound waves were still enough to pin Bakugou against the wall, his hands clutching his ears. Only he was affected. The other students present in the room did not get the full blow of the cry, and stood there cringing and mildly worried, as Philae wobbled back and looked for a way to stop her dragon to spit fire any second. Their jaws slackened completely when the wyvern ceased her painful screech to speak in harsh, foul words.

"Who's da loser now, dumbass?" He huffed smoke from his large nostrils, his slithery tongue flicking out of his maw. "Yarr not the only one wit' power, here, y'know? Next time ya disrespect me lady, I roast ya like da fuckin' chick you are, wit' hot potatoes up yarr ass! Ya go' me?"

He punctuated his threat with a puff of hot breath. No one dared to speak for a moment. Bakugou panted and groaned, his ears ringing painfully, watching his opponent with dazed eyes. Philae, suddenly too self-conscious and regretting her slip of control, shuffled from on foot to the other.

"Infuriae," she called, "stop that. He's done nothing too harsh, really."

The wyvern warped the rest of his big body out, occupying half of the living room and the entire sofa, his claws clinking on the floor. He turned to Philae with offended eyes.

"Nothin' too harsh, ya say? Milady, he looked ya down and outrigh' disrespected ya, I can't let that pass, no no!" He growled.

"You didn't need to make him deaf," she tried to reason him, "I don't want you to harm my classmates, for _fudge_ sake!"

The massive reptile let out a smoky gurgle that sounded like a laugh.

"Deaf? Hardly! He be hard of hearin' for a while, but he'll be fine after dat. Serves 'im right, though."

Guessing she could not make him see reason, she gave up and turned to her classmates. They were all packed up against the wall across Infuriae, their gazes snapping nervously back and forth between her, Bakugou, and the wyvern. She gulped, bright red.

"Er," she started, "sorry. Guess Bakugou found his master in potty mouthing, eh?"

No one answered, and she got really ashamed of herself, on the verge of tears. There she was, a newly discovered freak. Although she had powerful magic, she could not control it properly. Whenever she felt strong emotions, they found echo in the dragons' and welled up to the point when they overwhelmed her completely. She could not help it. She definitely lost the occasion to make friends...

To her surprise, Izuku was the first to snap out of his stupor and spoke to her.

"That... that was..."

 _Stupid? Unsavory? Spiteful?_ She dreaded to know.

"Look," she said, "I'm sorry for-"

"Amazing!"

… What? Did she hear correctly? Philae stared at the boy, dumbfounded.

"Was it?" she said stupidly, hope swelling in her chest.

"Well, he's certainly... hot-tempered too, but he looks powerful!" Izuku praised excitedly. "I have to take notes," he then mumbled.

Infuriae watched the boy with renewed interest and purred appreciatively. He sniffed him, making him yelp in surprise.

"Hmmm, ya know what ta say," he commented happily, "I like ya. Ya be good to me lady, I can smell it."

"I... thank you?" Izuku replied, now bright red himself.

Then, the wyvern inspected each of Philae's classmates, making them hold their breath with anguish.

"Yarr not bad," the dragon concluded with a satisfied wave of his tail, "ya pass. Am Infuriae, best fire breather in da universe, nice ta meet ya!"

In the meantime, Philae had concentrated to call for a gate connecting to Infuriae's home world. When it finally opened, she tried to push the massive reptile through it.

"Right, that's grand," she announced quickly, "now that they have earned your approval, you can go, right?"

The wyvern groaned in protest.

"Wha'? No! I wanna stay wit' ya, makin' sure ya sleep good. I don't wanna go, don't wanna!" he wailed childishly.

She huffed in irritation and pushed harder. The wyvern eventually caved in and obeyed grumbling, until only his head remained in the room. She sighed, suddenly exhausted, and patted Infuriae's snout affectionately.

"Thank you for your concern, you goof, but I'm fine, you know?"

"Course ya know, ya got yaself good mates, even da idiot," he assured dismissively.

The idiot in question, who had recovered from his stunned silence, wanted to retort something nasty, but decided against it. His opponent was a hundred times tougher and heavier than he. No way he could compete with him. Instead, he tched, thrust his hands in his pockets, and turned to walk away.

However, his exit was blocked by a shadowy figure that no one had seen until then, but who had witnessed the entire commotion. The icy voice of Professor Aizawa sounded suddenly, catching the attention of everyone.

"I assume you know the reason why I'm possibly pissed that you woke up everyone in this bloody school with your sound of hell?" He asked dryly.

He was muffled in a yellow sleeping bag, and only his stormy eyes could be seen. Philae gulped. So much for her smooth settling in.

She opened her mouth to offer some sort of explanation, but it was without taking her scaly friend into account.

"Who's dat caterpillar over there?" he asked derisively.

Philae gasped and swirled around so quickly that she nearly got whiplash.

"Infuriae! Have some respect, he's my teacher!"

The wyvern was nonplussed.

"So? Ya goin' to be taught by a caterpillar, right. He's possibly competent, bu' lack in style."

She wanted to disappear into the ground, now. Before she could be scolded by Aizawa, another voice sounded behind his frame.

"What's happening here? The whole dorms are buzzing with concern and questions."

It was a deep, tired voice belonging to a tall, scrawny man. The newcomer wore huge tent-like clothes over his skeletal frame, and his unkept blonde hair showed a nice case of hasty awakening with no brush. Or maybe he did not have any sleep at all. His sunken, dark-circled blue eyes, shone with alarm. Philae found herself drawn to them, nearly forgetting her embarrassment. The man looked like his body was ready to snap in half at any time, given that it was so frail, but he held a strong aura that showed no fear. He was ready to face any threat thrown at him.

He scanned the room briefly, his gaze lingering quizzically on her and Infuriae. He locked eyes with the latter, who only chuckled when he took him in.

"Nice, now we have a skeleton. Wit' the caterpillar and the bombin' prodigy, we are halfway through a decent attempt at a Halloween party. Ya still alive, mister?" he asked the blonde man, to Philae's horror.

"Infuriae!" she bellowed, "enough! You're making things worse."

"Wha'? Am I?" he started.

"You made quite the commotion, indeed," Aizawa interjected, irritated, "so I suggest you go back to where you come from, and you leave us make things straight with your mistress."

"She no mistress," the wyvern corrected, "she me lady. There's a difference here."

"And I want to sleep more than I give a shit to semantics," the dark-haired teacher dead-panned.

Mortified, Philae nudged her scaly guest.

"Go, please," she begged. "For me."

At that, Infuriae finally obliged with a last challenging glance towards the two adults, and warped away for good.

The silence in the room was suddenly heavy and more deafening than the wyvern's screech. Philae kept her head down, unable to look up at her teacher, so ashamed by her mishap that she begged the gods to bury her alive right this instant. Her classmates fidgeted, unsure of what to do. Finally, she decided to speak to the unknown man first.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, "I... I dont control my Quirk, and I didn't know he would be so foul. He would never have hurt anyone, I wouldn't have allowed it. I swear, I didn't want anything that happened. I'm... I..."

"That's enough," Aizawa interrupted, "we'll discuss this somewhere else. Iida, make sure everyone's back to their rooms in fifteen minutes. Time to go to bed."

Reacting at the call of his name, Iida, a straight-in-his-boots type of guy with a scholar look and glasses, straightened up and acquiesced loudly. Then, the teacher gazed at the prostrate figure of Philae. The blonde man, still dazed by what he had just seen and heard, but more uncomfortable with her apologizing and almost crying over him, sighed and went towards her, placing a bony, warm hand on her shoulder.

"That's alright, we'll set things straight together," he tried to reassure her. Seeing that she did not react, he squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Please, I promise you won't be expelled..."

"But you'll be punished," Aizawa grumbled.

Philae flinched at the mention of punishment, but she did her best to school her features. She did not want to show she got scared. The blonde man ignored his colleague.

"For the moment we'd like to understand, that's all. We'll find a solution, everything's going to be alright, yeah? Please, look at me. I promise we just want to talk and help you."

She was still feeling awful, but she nodded. She looked up, her eyes meeting the vibrant blue ones of the man. He did not look angry or offended, just... concerned. For her? For her classmates? She did not know, but he was focused on her. When he saw her studying him, his thin lips curved into a gentle smile.

"Come," he pulled her with him, "let's talk somewhere private, alright?"

Philae nodded obediently, too stunned to do anything else, and let herself be guided by this strange man. Who was he? Just when they were in the doorway, Aizawa waiting for them down the corridor in his sleeping bag, Izuku stepped up to them and cleared his throat.

"Um, All Might," he called, "will Phi be...?"

The blonde looked over at him and his grew larger.

"Don't worry, Midoriya, my boy. We really just want to talk. We were surprised, that's all, and we should be the ones sorry for not having expected that kind of problems. We'll make sure Miss Crawford's Quirk won't be a bother to anyone, especially her, anymore. Trust me."

Puzzled, Philae watched them numbly. _All Might? This thin guy?_ She got worried that her classmate had been confused by Infuriae's screech. However, she did not care too much about that right now, and feared more that her new acquaintances found her too dangerous to hang out with.

"Midoriya," she breathed softly, "I'm so sorry, I didn't want to cause you any trouble..."

Ochako came up and offered her a warm smile.

"Don't worry, Phi, we're not mad." Then she turned to the others. "Right, guys?"

They mumbled incoherently, but all nodded, some of them smiling reassuringly, some of them still a bit shaken but not too afraid. Kirishima even gave her a thumbs up and a wink, and Bakugou snorted.

"Right," he mumbled, "nice pet, but I'll beat you nonetheless next time, got it?"

That was all it took to warm her heart. Philae felt relief wash through her, and she turned to the blonde man, a little more confident. Infuriae was right, she had found nice people to live with. Her guide nodded at her, his smile never fading, and led her out and down the corridor. Anubis, who had stayed hidden behind the sofa, and who had silently observed the events unfolding before him after the departure of the wyvern, took his chance to join them, nuzzling Philae's hand to comfort her. Aizawa did not scold them when they arrived, did not ask the presence of the dog, and simply led them to a small room, which he closed once they were all inside.


	5. Chapter 4

**Soooo! This chapter will be a cute one (I hope) :3**

 **For those who did not read chapter 92 and after, I tried to be as vague as possible as regards All Might predicament.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, I hope you will enjoy this chapter :D**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4 – Smiles and comfort**

Philae shuffled to the small sofa and sat down awkwardly. Her legs felt weak and made of jelly, and exhaustion seized her completely. She was always like that when her burst of emotions led to the summon of a dragon, for it was kind of a forced process that never failed to drain her of her energy. She bent forward and her shaky hands gripped her knees, her eyes cast downwards as she was waiting for the real scolding to come. She was no idiot, she knew she would be punished. She was always punished when she behaved badly.

Anubis trotted to her feet and rested his head on her hands, his black eyes and soft whine conveying his worry. She stroked his soft fur absent-mindedly, trying to suppress her anxiety. Aizawa made his way next to the sofa and his body plopped down on the floor, in a sleeping position. He looked determined to resume what he was undoubtedly doing before the wyvern had awoken him rudely. He closed his eyes and did not move anymore.

It was up to the blonde man to make the scolding, then.

Philae found him rummaging through the cupboard of a small kitchenette, putting a kettle full of water to heat with one hand, and searching for cups with the other. He made slow, calculated movements, as if not to tire himself too much. He then turned to her with the same kind, reassuring smile that said _everything's alright, don't worry_. She wished she could be so sure.

"I'm making herbal tea," he said, "would you like some?"

She hesitantly accepted and went to stand up to help him, uneasy with her idling, but he waved her off.

"No, no, let me do this, you look like you need to rest a bit."

 _So do you_ , she wanted to reply, thinking of his sunken eyes and frail body, but silencing her thoughts and leaning back in her seat. Infuriae's rude comments had been enough and she did not want to put fuel on this fire. So, she bit on her lower lip and forced herself to stay put, even though it bothered her to let him do everything.

The man finally sat down on a chair across her with two steaming cups of tea and, putting them on the small table between them and joining his hands on his lap, he looked up to gaze at her. He wanted to catch her eyes, but did not succeed. She avoided looking at him.

"I believe we were not introduced to each other yet," he began softly, his voice down so as not to bother Aizawa, who had seemingly fallen back asleep. "My name's Toshinori Yagi, but maybe you've known me as All Might, when I was still a hero."

 _So, he's really the blonde Hercules?_ Philae could hardly believe it. _What happened to him, to be reduced to such a state?_

Her head snapped up in surprise. The retired hero caught her incredulous look and elaborated.

"This is my true form," he said opening his arms wide. "As you can see, I'm not in my best shape. I heard you had arrived not so long ago in our world, so you may have not seen my last encounter with villains. Short story is, I cannot go on being a hero. I'm... too unfit for that, now."

Too unfit was an understatement, but the truth was that he did not want to wallow in self-pity just now. He was not the important individual here, at the moment.

He paused, then continued, "But I'm still a teacher, and in a few weeks I'll take care of your training for some time, if you accept, of course. Your classmates have an internship coming soon and it was agreed that, given your coming in too late for this, and having no experience whatsoever as an aspiring hero, you'll stay at U.A when the others will be away, and be under my supervision until class resumes. Aizawa will keep your Quirk in check and I'll help you follow a custom training programme, so that you're confident enough to use your Quirk in practical exercises with the class and take the rest of the curriculum in stride. Hopefully, incidents like tonight will never occur again."

 _Incident_. This word sounded so derisive, so carefree, that Philae almost wanted to laugh. But the lump in her throat prevented her from doing so. She had behaved like a temperamental toddler. She should not have agreed to this. Who was she kidding? She did not even have basic control over her moods!

Unwanted memories flooded back, along with a deeply rooted anguish that her slip-up might cost her more than the teacher implied. Aizawa had looked way angrier. Her link with the dragons vibrated nervously. A wave of some sort came up the strong connection she shared with them, forcing some reason into her. She was safe, was she not? The blonde was trustful, right? He would not have been a hero if he was not. Still, Philae doubted he was accustomed to such foul language, and she was responsible for her creatures. That ought to be punished, right...?

The flash of guilt and self-deprecation in her eyes did not get unnoticed by Toshinori. He had got wind of her having immense powers, which she did not master yet. Naomasa had briefly explained her story to him, and mentioned a possible heavy background, too. Now, he could see that his new student had serious confidence issues, among other depressing, incomprehensible thoughts. She was almost trembling from fear, for God's sake! Did she truly believed he was going to yell at her, or worse? That was unacceptable.

The former hero sipped his tea and took a deep breath, showing his kindest smile.

"Please," he said as reassuringly as he could, "relax. Aizawa's back asleep, so he won't be a total gruff and scolding you anytime soon. I even think he's not that mad at you. He wouldn't have agreed to keep an eye on you if he had the slightest doubt you weren't promising."

"Th-that's not..." she stuttered, "well, yes, I expect to be p-punished, that's fine, but... I just don't think I'll be up to the task. Being a hero, I mean. That was stupid on my part for hoping the contrary."

"Eh? Why is that?" he asked, a little surprised.

Philae wanted to cry. She could not, she had to remain strong for Kai and her mission, but oh, how she wanted to. Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes.

"I... you saw the fiasco for yourself. Infuriae's just insulted you and Professor Aizawa, and I couldn't stop him. I couldn't prevent him from summoning himself, from roaring at Bakugou, and I felt so helpless then..."

Her link, dormant since the wyvern had warped away, came back to life and shivered slightly in response to her upset state of mind. Toshinori hummed and bent slightly forward.

"Well, I must say your Quirk will need a lot of work. But you do have potential, and I don't doubt you'll be capable of handling things smoothly enough. Besides," he added in a tone he wanted to sound lighter, "he didn't harm anyone, did he?"

He realised too late it was a mistake to say that. He saw her grip her knees so hard they must hurt, and tears began falling silently down her cheeks. She bit back a sob.

 _How pathetic_ , Philae thought, with a voice that was not quite her own but that of a distant past, _what a shameful, weak girl I am_.

"No," she squeaked, "he didn't... I wouldn't have allowed it, I swear he wouldn't even _dare_. But... you don't know me, you didn't know what he could do, and thinking that the others could hate me... they would be right, if they did. But I'm... I'm so sorry!"

She blurted out a string of endless apologies, so engrossed in her anguish that she did not see Toshinori get up and bend over the table to approach her. She flinched almost imperceptibly when she felt his fingers brush her tears away gently, then lift her chin to meet his warm gaze.

His clear blue orbs conveyed so much kindness, so much understanding in them, with an intensity that only her brother or stepfather had ever directed to her. He did not look angered or impatient at her tears, merely concerned. He was waiting for her to gain back her composure, trying to help her with his own calm countenance. How could someone so fragile hold so much strength in himself, she could not fathom, but she could see what had made him a hero – and still did –.

Toshinori, for his part, noticed the way she almost shied away from his touch, as if some deeply ingrained instinct of hers had expected a blow and acted out of self-preservation. Maybe it was his imagination, maybe she was just intimidated by him, but he could not help feeling a familiar pang in his chest. He had the strange feeling that this was part of what Naomasa had meant with the term _heavy_ background. He would have to determine what exactly the girl had experienced before she came here. But not now. Now, she needed to feel safe and trusted, and Toshinori would offer just that.

"I know he wouldn't have," he stated firmly, "otherwise, we would have intervened. The safety of our students is always top priority, never doubt that. But," he added with a confident smile, "we could see there was no danger. Except for young Bakugou's ears, that is, but I know he has quite the temper. Only his pride seemed wounded, anyway."

He stepped back and let out a forced chuckle, in an attempt to lighten the mood, but it turned into a coughing fit. Fortunately, he had time to shield his mouth with his hand, so that he would not spit blood on his student. Some scarlet drops trickled down his fingers, and he put his other hand under them to stop them from falling on the table. _Shit!_

Philae noticed his sudden movements and the blood. She jumped, worried, and looked frantically around for towels. She spotted some paper napkins next to the kettle, and nearly knocked the table over when she reached out for them. Anubis, disturbed in his sleep, jumped in surprise and ran to snuggle safely against Aizawa's mid-section, huffing and a little distraught.

Toshinori could only stare in disbelief as she fussed around him, focusing on not coughing again. It was difficult to remain calm. His eyes widened when she began to wet the napkins on the tip of her tongue and wiped away the blood from his chin with them, without even realising what she was doing.

He did his best not to blush, but failed miserably. Not many people had ever taken care of him like she did, and she did it without a second thought. She proceeded to clean his face meticulously, then went to throw the sullied napkins into the bin while he awkwardly washed his hands.

Once both had finished and resumed their places, Philae finally registered what had happened. Her face flared. _My fudging gosh_ , was she one to act on impulse. She was about to bow so low she would bump her head on the floor, but the blonde interrupted her.

"Don't," he blurted hurriedly, "er, I mean, it's not necessary. I'm not offended. It's fine, really."

She found it hard to comply. She did not think she could look at him ever again. He tried to keep the conversation going.

"Sorry about that," he began sheepishly, "it's part of the reason why I cannot be All Might anymore. It's... frustrating, and embarrassing. Sorry you had to see that."

 _He_ was sorry? Philae blushed a new shade of red. This man was too considerate for his own good.

"No problem," she mumbled, "given what you had to hear earlier."

"Mh. I must say your wyvern speaks his mind quite freely, but I guess he's not exactly wrong..."

"Don't say that," she looked up forcefully, "power's not only in muscles. He had no right to judge you, when you're this..."

She fumbled with her words to find the right adjective. The blonde watched her, puzzled at her outburst, until she eventually let out the word "strong." He arched a brow and raised one of his thin arms.

"Strong?" he asked with a amused smile, pointing to his invisible biceps.

She nodded firmly.

"Yes. Strong. Maybe not in the way you think, but you cannot deny it. I know you know where your strength resides."

 _In your heart._ She did not say it out loud, but she got the impression he understood.

His smile got more genuine.

"Well, thank you, I guess." A pause, during which he listened to Aizawa stir slightly in his deep sleep, then, "back to your wyvern, to conclude the summary of what happened, I can assure you he's not done anything harmful. If anything, his behaviour was... out of place. But as you're still a student in training, we'll consider you're not totally responsible of the way he addressed us. We'll let it pass, but just this once. And whatever Aizawa said," he concluded with a knowing look, "you won't be punished."

That last sentence, as the teacher had expected, echoed endlessly in Philae's head, as she let out a breath she did not know she was holding. She was not punished. She was not going to be punished. That was a blessing in itself.

Hope bubbled again in her chest. Her teacher believed she deserved a second chance. This meant she was trusted. He was going to help her. She was safe. _Safe_. It had been a while since she had felt this with any stranger. And if she thought about it, she had felt that way with Naomasa, even if he was from the police, and Nedzu, too. She was stupid to even have been thinking that she could be treated like she had been before.

She could not totally prevent her old ghosts from hovering over her thoughts and dreams, but this time, she will try her best not to let them get to her anymore.

She was safe. Full point. Fresh start.

"I... I won't let it happen again," she promised.

Toshinori nodded and decided to push a little further, just to be sure she would not doubt herself anytime soon. She needed that to be able to work on her Quirk. He wanted her to succeed.

"We know that. We also knew that _you_ ," he said pointing at her, "wouldn't have let your wyvern harm anyone, anyway. He cares about what you feels, despite his overly loud mouth. And I can see it in your eyes, that you already care deeply for the others, so he would not have made anything to contradict this. You got to the hospital because you wanted to protect a child, didn't you?"

Dazed, Philae could only nod. All Might hummed in satisfaction and poked her forehead.

"Then, you have everything in you to become a great hero. You just need to work on your Quirk, so that you don't scare us like you did tonight. We teachers are here to ensure that you reveal your full potential. The only thing needed for that, is your will. Do you want to be a hero? Do you want to master your Quirk to help people, to protect them?"

Did she? Philae did not know. She thought it would be fun, that it could be a way to make herself useful while she looked for a way to save her brother. But was it a career she could dream of, when her powers could destroy and kill?

She thought about the child under the rubble. She thought about the faces of her new classmates. She remembered the pained face of Kai, wriggling in suffering as his powers consumed his body little by little, when she could not do anything against it.

She remembered the cries, the helplessness, the vulnerability and guilt she had felt so long ago, when her home had been attacked and later when she had been strapped on the table of the lab. She had wanted to do something so badly, that her powerlessness had nearly driven her mad. And when she had done something, it had been a disaster. She still smelt the blood.

Toshinori observed her while she was debating with herself. She was like an open book to him, showing naked emotions he could easily relate to: guilt, grief, uncertainty, _fear_ of herself. He knew she had seen the thin line between good and bad for herself, that she had experience with crossing it. It was written all over her.

He examined her further. Philae looked so young, despite the fact that her file indicated around a century of existence. She had long, brown hair cascading around her shoulders, a glowing, healthy tanned skin, and expressive brown eyes that at the moment were veiled by different, conflictual emotions. Her arms were bandaged, showing only a portion of a serpentine red tattoo slithering around her left forearm and up to the back of her elbow. She looked athletic, as if she had already undergone physical training in the past. Here and there, he caught glimpses of small old scars, drawing a strange pattern of a past he knew scarcely about. Apart from these, nothing gave the impression that she was any different from her classmates.

Had she really been born in the middle of the twentieth century? He hardly believed it. If her physical appearance and psyche were any indication, she was more around seventeen. Had she been artificially preserved? Did it have to do with her Quirk? What had she lived since then? What caused her to shudder at the mere thought of punishment, and panic at the mere view of needles?

 _What happened to her, really?_ , All Might wondered. All those questions bothered him. He was not a hero anymore, but habits die hard. He wanted to know, to try and lift this burden off her shoulders. He wanted to help her more than he could just now. Thinking that despite everything, he had to let her go with some nightmares clutching her, was frustrating. He almost groaned from irritation. But he had to make do for now, as he certainly could not resolve everything in the blink of an eye. This needed time. He hoped he had enough of it left to do something, really.

He shook his head imperceptibly. No, he would not think about that. In his head, Izuku's voice rang and reminded him that he had promised not to give up on life. He wanted to see his successor become a great hero, and if he could help it, he decided, he would also do everything to help all his students achieve their dreams.

Some time passed, during which he observed the succession of emotions on Philae's face. Then, slowly, steadily, determination bloomed over her features, and set her eyes alight with renewed vigour.

The retired hero smiled. There. He knew she could do it. He did not know her, and yet, he felt he could tell she was going to be a great person. He wanted to put his faith in her. There was a genuine, pure want to help others in her, that reminded him of young Midoriya. The thought made him chuckle inwardly. His students never ceased to make him wonder. The one in front of him, with all her mysteries and potential, now joined them on their way to greatness. The curious side of him was piqued. He could not die before he saw all of them fully grown up, now could he?

Philae had made her decision. She wanted to make sure her skills were put to good use, to the better good of others that did not possess such powers. That was why she had accepted the offer of Naomasa, she realised. That was why she was here. Yes, she wanted to be a hero, someone others could rely on. She wanted to be the kind of person her teacher was.

She locked eyes with Toshinori – All Might – again. She had only met him a few minutes ago, and yet, she had the feeling that she could trust him with her life. He was a hero still, despise what he seemed to believe. She wanted to make him see that. She wanted him to train her.

Her mind set, she took a long breath and said, "Thank you."

There was no need of further words. The blonde only nodded in return, his whole face beaming with relief.

"I take it you accept my humble help, then."

She nodded a little more energetically, her lips slowly curving into a grin of her own. Anubis sensed the change in his sleep, and his tail wagged against the sleeping bag. Both watched him, amused, and soon Philae's smile got as bright and warm as the sun, literally. Imperceptibly, her draconic link purred and sang in sync with her new state of mind. She radiated warmth, so much that Toshinori found himself drawn to the comforting sensation she emitted. How could she do that?

Philae picked up her cup and sipped her tea, her heart a little lighter. Satisfied to see that she looked more okay than before, but surprised to find that he already missed her radiant grin, the former hero did the same. He largely preferred when she smiled, like... _Stop thinking about Midoriya, you old man!_ , he scolded himself. They fell into a comfortable silence, neither of them ready to stop the peace yet. Aizawa was sleeping soundly, his quiet breathing almost inaudible. Anubis was keeping him company, snoring softly, his ears twitching to sounds heard by him only.

After some time, her cup half empty, Philae finally spoke again.

"I should go," she announced, "you must be tired, and I've already taken too much of your time as it is..."

Toshinori did not think so, happy as he was to be of some use again, but he knew it was quite late, and he was going to regret it later if he did not get at least a few hours of sleep. So would his student, and he would hate being the reason she got dark circles under her eyes the next day. He nodded briefly, watching her get up, gulp down the last of her tea, and rinse her cup quickly. She hesitated a millisecond, then bowed and thanked him.

"Thank you, Professor All Might... for everything."

He waved and got up himself.

"Just All Might is fine. And don't mention it, that's my job."

Philae smiled.

"Have a good night, then."

She left without a sound. Anubis, sensing her departure, opened an eye and got up lazily. The small dog sniffed Aizawa's face, giving it a little lick, before he followed his mistress and disappeared into the corridor. The dark-haired teacher stirred in his sleep and groaned as his face got a little wet with dog slobber, but did not wake up. The door closed with a soft click.

Now alone with his passed out caterpillar of a colleague – for that too, the wyvern was quite right –, Toshinori rubbed his face sighing, and decided sleep sounded nice indeed.

* * *

 **I tried not to be too OOC ^^ and I promise it will not fall into Mary Sue if I can help it XD**

 **Have a nice day!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi! Exceptionally, I post a (long) new chapter today, since I have big oral exams and I won't have time to update on Friday.**

 **Thank you for your kind reviews and enjoy! :D**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5 – First (not so successful) steps**

Uraraka Ochako was an eager ball of excited positivity. She was a happy-go-lucky kind of girl, whom one could only love or hate. Philae immediately liked her. Back home, the very few female friends she had were either adults working in Crawford's company, all busy with tight schedules, or newly graduated students who were off abroad to prestigious universities to achieve their dreams. In other words, Philae had lacked female company for quite some time, and was used to living among men – which could be quite tiresome –. Having the occasion to bond with the girls in her class was therefore refreshing and welcome.

With Tsuyu, a strange, but cute girl with a frog Quirk, the three of them headed towards the nearest mall, in the city centre. Izuku, Iida, and Kirishima were accompanying them, claiming they needed supplies and a few other things, but they planned on going their separate ways once there. The boys were not interested in "girly stuff", such as trying outfits and strolling through endless sections of clothes, and they largely preferred going among themselves. They would all meet again at lunch, then maybe go to some place to have fun together – maybe the arcade, or a café, or something else, they would decide when they were there –.

Truthfully, Philae was not interested in clothes that much. She liked the activity as a means to spend quality time with friends, but other than that, and the practical aspect of getting a new wardrobe, she did not indulge in it for pleasure. Still, she could not help get excited when she saw Ochako bounce and beam at the idea of advising her on outfits. Tsuyu was much calmer, although an aura of happiness surrounded her and shone in her eyes.

The group had asked the others to join them, but got negative answers for various reasons. Most of them declined in favour of training, and some... well, some might have expressed their worry at witnessing another "wyvern-banshee episode", as Mineta smartly referred it by. There were three of them in particular, that avoided her more or less obviously: Mineta, who had seemingly put her on the same level of danger as Bakugou and outright ignored her, a guy with a tail named Ojiro, who did not really fear her but remained cautious whenever she was in a ten meter distance from him, and a silent, discreet boy named Koda, who had been traumatised by Infuriae's screech and did not want to get any close to her, or even look at her.

Deep down, it hurt Philae to think that her powers chased people away from her. But she could not blame them. She was dangerous, and even though she would not go boom at any moment, she did not really know what could happen under pressure. It was not as if they wanted to be mean to her on purpose. They just... wanted to be safe. And they surely would not get along if they were too cautious. Philae could understand their carefulness, but she did not want to be wrapped up in bubble paper either, nor would she appreciate being watched as if she were some wild animal.

Then, there were people that did not avoid her, nor approached her, but just... stayed in the perimeter. There was Bakugou, of course, since he had been the first to measure how out of control her Quirk could get. She had tried to apologise to him, but he had told her to get the fudge out of his sight before he blasted her sorry bottom – with much ruder, more imaginative words only Infuriae could compete with –. She would have felt miserable, had Izuku not explained that it was the way the blonde reacted, when he met an obstacle he could not overcome. The obstacle being currently her and her wyvern. Her green-haired friend had concluded the other would calm down eventually, when he would have vented out his frustration, namely punched someone or burnt something down. The usual when "Kacchan" was angry at something, and no one paid it any mind anymore.

In any case, if the explosive teen did not talk to her, and looked ready to blast her whenever he got the chance, he still hung by like a gruff stalker. He kept himself at a distance, and yet he never let her out of his sight – despite the fact that he had purposefully told her to never appear before him again –. His gaze was angry, and at the same time, she would catch him analysing her every moves. Maybe he was searching for her weaknesses, so that he could get back at her for his humiliation? He would not tell, and Philae tried her best to ignore his disturbing study of her.

Unfortunately for her, he was not alone doing so. Another boy did, though not as openly, and surely not as tactlessly as his hotheaded classmate. Todoroki Shouto, apparently one of the prodigies of his generation, had his fair share of staring at her. She could not pinpoint the reason why he did, though, for he did not know her at all, nor did he get roared at and insulted by the wyvern. Still, he adopted the same pattern of quick glances and intense scrutiny. Did he want to pick a fight, too? It was hard to tell, given that his face was often devoid of readable emotions, and he too made a point in not talking to her. Never. Not even a "hello". Just a glance and a nod, if she was lucky enough.

Philae became immediately embarrassed and fidgety when the two of them were around for more than a few second, which was a stunning exploit as it was only her third day at U.A High. However, the others did not seem to mind the strange behaviour of their friends, so she considered this as normal, at least to their standards of normalcy, and suppressed the uneasy shivers that ran down her spine when she felt their gazes on her.

Other than these minor details, her first two days had been quite smooth, to her utter relief. Aizawa had taught and talked to her like nothing had happened the first night, and Philae had been integrated quickly. Momo had offered to tutor her, so that she could catch up with the first semester she had missed. Ochako accompanied her everywhere, so that she would not get lost. Izuku always chatted about everything and anything, trying to find a moment when he could finally ask her about her Quirk. Kirishima had taken a liking to Anubis, and the dog followed him everywhere he went, coming back to her only when everyone gathered at the dorms for the evening. The little furball had even been assigned a selected spot in the common living room, with his bowls, a blanket, and a pink cushion, courtesy of Tsuyu. He was probably sleeping on it at this very moment, waiting for her to return.

Philae had been introduced to the other teachers, all of them welcoming and kind enough. She also had caught glimpses of All Might, but the scrawny blonde man did not have classes with them at the moment. He seemed to gravitate around the infirmary wing, and Izuku had simply told her the former hero needed some more time to heal completely from the wounds he had received. She had not prodded, though she promised herself to ask her friend what exactly had happened during the last fight of All Might. Or maybe she would ask the man directly, when she would start training with him.

All in all, she had made herself some friends quite rapidly, and she certainly would not complain. She had unintentionally got rivals, too, if Bakugou and Todoroki's behaviour was anything to go by – or creepy stalkers of doom, both seemed to mean the same thing here –. As for the students outside of her class... well, it was as if they did not really know of her yet. That, or they did not give a damn. Either was fine by her, she thought she already got too much attention as it was.

She had got her new sim card on her second evening, waiting on her night-stand, along with a brand new credit card and bank account information, credited with the first transfer of the small monthly pension the Principal had granted her for her basic needs. Hence their presence at the mall right now. She could not go on with only two changes of clothes and her uniform, and she wanted to see more of the new world she lived in.

Philae had been worried that her being a possible target for villains might have forbidden her to go out. However, when she had asked Aizawa about it, the dark-haired teacher had just scoffed and given her a tracking device. A simple click on the button, and she would send a SOS directly to the nearest heroes' pagers. She was to hold to it wherever she went outside of the school gates, alone or not.

She put the precious gadget safely in her bra, away from prying eyes and where she was sure she would not lose it. Its presence was reassuring. Besides, she thought, she was among other aspiring heroes, who had much more experience than she. Surely, no villain with brain cells would dare attack them in the open, at rush hour, with civilians swarming around and pro heroes not so far away. And even if they wanted to, they might be careful of Philae's Quirk, since she had half-toasted the Noumu that had attacked her the first time.

This was the last free day her class could enjoy, before they went to ask for internships. They had to solicit hero agencies themselves, using the network they had begun creating during their first internship, and it would take a day or two. After that, they would train a little more and be off. Philae, for her part, would stay on school grounds and meet All Might on the training field, and she surprisingly could not wait to begin the programme her teacher promised to make for her.

"Soooo," Ochako chirped happily, "what do you want to do first, Phi?"

The boys took it as their cue to go on their own. Philae looked at her hyperactive friend and hummed pensively.

"Huh, wel-l, I think I'll begin with regular, day-to-day clothes. Comfortable and all. And maybe one or two nicer outfits?" she proposed.

"Hm, sounds like a plan! Follow me, we'll doll you up in no time! What's your style?"

"Er..."

That was a good question. Tricky, in fact. Back home, she had suits for business meetings and fancy dresses for galas, business dinners and charities she had to attend as the heiress of Crawford. Needless to say she was not found of those. They made her feel trapped and suffocating.

When she did not have to drag herself to blasted events where she had to look nice and pretty, she shared a closet of jeans and nerdy t-shirts with her brother. Both siblings had approximately the same simple tastes, resulting in her looking almost tomboyish, if not for her curves hugged by the fitting cut of her classic outfits. Crawford slipped in one or two skirts and dresses from time to time, to try and get her to act more like the rose he thought her to be. She indulged him very rarely, though when she did, he mostly left her alone with her style for a good couple of months after.

"To be honest," she answered nervously, "I'm not that girly, you know. I'm more into nerdy stuff... But!" she added quickly so as not to disappoint Ochako and Tsuyu, "I'd appreciate it if you could help me pick a couple of classier clothes, you know, to go out and..."

"Don't feel bad about what you like to wear," Tsuyu replied, "we're not here to project our tastes on you, ribbit. If you prefer film references or black metal groups on your shirts, then we'll help you find stores that sell them."

This girl was an angel. Her calm composure and her thoughtfulness made her a person to be loved immediately. Ochako joined in.

"Of course, Phi! Don't feel obligated to ask for fancy things if you don't feel like it! Though I'd love to buy myself some cute items I found at one of those stores, if you don't mind?"

"'Course not," Philae snorted, "and thank you."

Eventually, they all ended up having fun in the fitting rooms, trying both nice and ridiculous outfits, and advising one another on sizes and colours. Philae stocked up a reasonable pile of jeans, plain t-shirts, underwear, sleepwear and toiletries. She even found a small shop where she fell for a collection of colourful tops with video games references, which she promised herself to play one day since the characters looked cool. Finally, the three of them sat down at a trendy café, a dozen bags stacked around them, and ordered drinks while they waited for the boys. God knew what they were doing to take that long. And it was the girls that were known to take ages when shopping?

* * *

"So, Phi," Izuku piped up from his glass of lemonade, "can I ask you about your Quirk?"

The others around the table rolled their eyes at him. Of course, one could only expect nerdy fanboy Midoriya to wait that long before he started getting curious again. It was only fair, though. They had gathered for lunch at a fast-food restaurant, and used their eating time together to know more about Philae, asking and giving information about themselves in return. The subject of her Quirk was bound to come, since they did not have enough time to consider it seriously with all the lessons they had had to deal with, and they all knew Izuku would be the first to bring it up. She chuckled and nodded.

"Ask away."

The green-haired teen produced a notebook and pen from his backpack, and flipped the pages until he found a blank one. His fingers were working fast and his eyes shone with childish excitement. Their friends sighed good-naturedly, and settled themselves comfortably on the table of the fast-food restaurant they had chosen for lunch, ready to listen to the exchange as well.

"O-kay," Izuku began, "so, I gather your Quirk is partly about summoning dragons. Is there something else to it?"

Philae answered as exhaustively as she could about the way her abilities worked, like the time when Naomasa had interrogated her at the hospital. She explained the summoning process and what she knew about the link she had created with the creatures, as well as the theoretical possibilities of it.

Izuku fired question after question without fail, his curiosity consuming him to the point where he merely took the time to breathe between his sentences. He was in a trance, and scribbled her answers down on every inch of paper available, muttering unintelligible things under his breath when he did not ask something.

Though she felt a little overwhelmed by his eagerness and near-obsessive attitude, Philae found it nice to talk about her Quirk with someone else than her brother. There were very few people who knew about it, and none were of her age. Revealing all she could about this secret she had kept for so long, felt liberating.

When she did not have any more answer to give, her friend was almost out of breath, his eyes sparkling with wonder.

"As I thought," he exclaimed, "your Quirk is awesome! You can do so many things with it, there is huge room for progress. I can't wait to see what you'll try next!"

"Well," Philae replied pensively, "I guess I'll begin with urgent problems, such as not summoning a wyvern during the night, especially if I'm angry at someone."

She tried to joke about her slip up, even if deep down, she still felt shameful. The reactions of her friends reassured her.

"Yeah," Kirishima laughed, "I think Professor Aizawa will skin you alive if you pull out something like that again. I thought he was going to gouge your eyes out and eat them for breakfast, the way he looked at you."

"Don't be daft," Iida scoffed, "he'd never do that. Though I must say I was quite worried you'd be sanctioned more severely. It could have gotten very out of hand."

"Hm," she nodded slowly, "he didn't talk to me, in fact. I talked with All Might, while he caught up on sleep. I got lucky."

"I betcha," the red-head confirmed, "All Might is the best. He couldn't punish you even if his life depended on it. Look at Midoriya here," he pointed to the green-haired, "always ending up to the infirmary because he's careless and breaks all his bones before thinking, and All Might's never done more than patting him on the back or frowning at him."

"That's not true," Izuku tried to counter meekly, "I got sanctioned, last time..."

"Because you broke the rules and fought with Bakugou at night, where you shouldn't have," Tsuyu interjected, "so of course you had to be sanctioned. It would have been too lenient of him not to, ribbit."

Philae's eyes widened at that. Izuku had fought with Kacchan intentionally? She understood they were childhood friends and shared some strong like-hate relationship, but still, was it not too overboard?

The poor teen was red with embarrassment. He spluttered half excuses, while the others bickered on the level of leniency All Might could muster towards him. It seemed that he was the chosen protegee of the blonde teacher, and this was apparently a common subject to tease him lightly about.

"Anyway," she interrupted to save him from his misery, "I guess I'll have to find out what I can do when I train with him. He promised me a training programme and..."

"You'll be trained by All Might?" Izuku asked excitedly. "Cool! You'll catch up with us in no time, then."

"I hope so," she beamed, "I really want to show you what I'm capable of."

"You'll have plenty of occasions," Ochako assured. "D'you have a costume, yet?"

"A costume?" Philae blinked.

"Yes, a hero costume," Kirishima explained with wide gestures to make his point, "when you enter U.A, you fill in your info for the assistance team to design your costume, adapted to your Quirk and super cool to wear. It's how you'll appear to the world, so it's super important you choose your style wisely!"

"Ah... Yes, I think I remember Principal Nedzu asking for this. I didn't know what to tell him, and I still have no idea what to expect," she answered deflated. "In a sense, I still have to accept the whole idea of becoming a hero. In my world, you'd only exist in comic books, you know. So it's like living a dream, I don't know what to wish for next," she giggled.

"I guess it'd be good to stick to a simple, recognisable design for now," Izuku mumbled, doodling on a corner of his page, "with basic properties. Infuriae's a fire wyvern, so the costume should be fumigated. Resistant to scales, too, if they must be resorted to. Elasticity would be a nice bonus in some cases. Oh, and why not see for stress reducing acupuncture pressure, like Uraraka's costume, but for stress. And..."

"Midoriya," Kirishima called him, snapping him out of his reflections, "relax, man. You're overthinking again. It's no good for you, y'know?"

"S-sorry," he muttered softly, "I guess I'm easily excited?"

"It's alright, Midoriya," Philae soothed him, "actually, I think I'd like your advice. I already thought about a fumigated costume, and stress reducing acupuncture could prove useful in the heat of battle, when I need to focus more. I had a sort of woman-knight design in mind, light version, with leather shoulder-pads and a helmet shaped like a dragon-head..."

"A warrior?" Now the teen's eyes were sparkling again. "Wow, that'd be great! What colour?"

"Er, red, maybe? Yeah, I like red."

"It would enhance your eyes and brighten your face, ribbit," Tsuyu agreed.

"That's a start," Ochako supported cheerfully, "you're shaping your character and that's the most difficult part. I had to think about mine for months, before I could find a concept that satisfied me."

"Me too," Kirishima added, "so don't fret if you're only at the beginning. What counts is that you've begun thinking about it."

"True," Tsuyu concluded with a nod, "plus, you already have a hero name, haven't you?"

"Yes," Philae replied, "Lady Dragon. It was an idea of the press, so I just went along with it, but I like it. If I can reach the expectations it raises, it'll suit me."

"Lady Dragon," Izuku added to his notes, "I saw it in the newsfeed of heroic missions. You took down a Noumu all by yourself, right?"

Everyone gasped at that, startling her. She flustered slightly.

"I wouldn't say that," she corrected humbly, "it was more by chance. I managed to wound it, or at least burn it enough to hinder its movements, and I think the heroes could approach after that. But I wouldn't really know, I kind of passed out as soon as I finished attacking," she finished lamely.

"That's... impressive," Iida commented, stunned, "we encountered a Noumu before, and if All Might hadn't been there to take it down, who knows where we would be now..."

"Six feet under, most certainly," Tsuyu dead-panned, and Ochako yelped.

"Don't say it like that!"

"It's true, though," Izuku muttered, "if not for All Might, we would have been helpless... But anyway, it's the past now, and as for your name, Phi, it's a great name, for a future great hero."

"Yeah," she confirmed with a radiant grin, glad he changed the subject, "I must have one, to equal yours. You all have pretty cool names!"

The meal resumed and ended quickly after that, and the group decided to go to the arcade, where Philae could finally show some nice skills she had perfected over the years. She stood her ground at fighting games and dancing games, and she outmatched everyone at card games. But who won and lost did not matter in the end. What mattered was that they spent a peaceful, funny day among friends, which they expected would get rarer and rarer as time would go by.

* * *

In a dingy bar in one of the poorest parts of the city, someone was having a not so funny time. The room was mostly devoid of people, apart from a misty figure behind the bar, and a slouched, nervous man with greyish hair and multiple severed hands covering his face who was sitting on a bar stool, scratching furiously at his neck.

"I see," the bartender said in a sigh, "so the heroes have her, now. I assume it's not a good thing, then, Shigaraki."

The grey-haired scratched even more angrily, his reddened skin peeling off under the assault. He grumbled and stared at the ceiling, pissed.

"I know, Kurogiri," he mumbled, "Noumu got distracted by those stupid heroes, and she could react in time to get away. Boring. What a pain..."

"Shigaraki," the other interrupted, his tone getting slightly irritated, "she's got huge power in her. You're responsible for the failure of your Noumu. What did you want her for, anyway?"

"I wanted her to free Sensei and kick that show-off villain's ass to hell, that's what," he replied impatiently. "But it's too late for that, now. All Might has set his eyes on her, and I bet he'll stop at nothing to shape her into one of them. A boring, tasteless, good-for-nothing hero. Tch, I'd rather have her dead, now. So annoying..."

"Maybe that can be arranged," Kurogiri suggested evenly, "tell the Precepts that she's dangerous, and barter her death. Let him do the dirty job, and who knows, if he doesn't get out of this alive, maybe it'll kill two birds with one stone."

Tomura Shigaraki stopped scratching at that, and seemed to ponder the idea. Then, with a long-suffering sigh, he declared, "I don't want to talk to that shit-face. No way I'm asking him something, let alone strike a deal with him. Now I want to kill them both. What a pain."

He continued his banter, his murderous gaze promising endless sufferings to those he considered stupid dirt under his sole. Kurogiri sighed and resumed his cleaning his glasses, knowing that no one could reason with the toddler-adult when he was in one of his moods.

Eventually, the child-man regained some calm. Kurogiri took that as his cue to slip in another idea.

"We could send someone to gather information about her," he suggested evenly, "to see if she's already taking to heroic ideals, or if she could be persuaded to join. Either way, it's still a good way to have a clearer idea of who she is and how to defeat her should the need arise."

Tomura hummed, then grumbled, "Guess it's okay. I'll send the two idiots."

* * *

The school field felt empty, when Philae's classmates were not there training. They had all gone off to hero agencies to ask for internships, and she was left alone with Anubis. She had left the dog inside for now, not knowing what her training could be in terms of danger, and as she waited for All Might and Aizawa to show up, she sat down on the soft grass and hummed under her breath, enjoying the cool breeze that stroke her cheeks.

Her teachers came ten minutes later, one motivated, the other as bored as he could be. Philae felt bad for the latter, who had to babysit her until she was able to control her Quirk properly. The smile on All Might's face dissipated her shame, though.

"Morning, Miss Crawford," he greeted amiably, "I hope you're ready to begin our sessions?"

"Morning, All Might. Call me Phi, please," she replied joyfully, "and yes, I'm most definitely am!"

"Great, you must if you want to make progress," he approved giving her a thumbs up, while Aizawa dragged himself under the shade of a tree to get comfortable. "Now, you'll begin with basic stuff, but I expect you to build up strength and stamina quickly. So, for today, we'll just stick to easy exercises, both physical and on your Quirk. Normally, I'd put you in action straight away, to see what you're made of, but the last episode regarding your abilities was... enough reference, let's say."

She refrained from blushing. At least, he was taking it lightly enough to confirm it was indeed old memories. Aizawa scowled, unamused, but said nothing. Let the idiot have it his way, for today. The dark-haired hero would not get involved in this session. His job was to stop his student from causing mayhem around campus, and he would do no more than this until further notice. So he leaned his back against the trunk of the tree and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for time to pass. Maybe he would take a nap, if she showed she could do without him. She better do.

All Might continued with his instructions.

"I think you began with too difficult things. We'll start over again and make it right, okay?"

That sounded reasonable. Philae had never been able to develop her Quirk like her classmates had. Starting anew and taking things progressively would be nice. She nodded.

"Sounds great to me. What would you have me do, then?"

"Well," the blonde reflected, "you can't do anything without your dragons, right? From what I gathered, you make a contract with them, a partnership, and then you can use their powers as your own. You can also summon them and have them fight for you, correct?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "but it demands a lot of energy."

"Precisely!" he exclaimed. "I think this is because you're not used to summon them that often, only in case of emergency, and because your emotions take over. But what if you made an intended summon?"

"It would be less exhausting," she agreed, "and I guess the more I use the link to summon them, the less amount of energy it'd demand to do it. I know that when I summon a big dragon, like Infuriae, for example, I tire very quickly, though I don't know if it's because the dragon is here, or because the warps to summon and send them back consume a lot of energy at once."

She thought she knew where he was getting at. His grin confirmed it.

"Yes. That's what we'll need to determine first. So, today I'd like you to summon a dragon, and hold them in this world for as long as you can. If you succeed and you're not too tired, you'll do this every day from now on. Once we arrive and begin our sessions, you summon. Once you're at your limit, you make them go away. You try to lengthen the period of stay, little by little. And in the meantime, you train your body and build some more muscle around your bones. If it doesn't work that way, we'll try something else. We'll see how it gets along the way. You're okay with this?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered vigorously, "assuredly."

"Good. As for the rest," he continued, taking out a stack of papers from his back pocket, "I made a diet programme for you to follow, along with a detailed schedule for when we're not together. I foresaw your expected progress, both mental and physical, and of course I'll adapt it as time goes by. I'll be here to accompany you for as long as I can, so you just have to follow and focus on working hard!"

His over-excitement was contagious, but he was punished with coughing some blood because of it. Philae patted her pockets for tissues, as she had expected this to happen, and offered one to him. She would not wet it this time though, she did not want to make a fool of herself in front of grumpy Aizawa, who could be a sadist when he wanted to be. No one needed to know how silly she could get, thank you very much. Toshinori accepted the tissue with a thankful smile, and she smiled in return.

"Let's summon, then, shall I?" she murmured.

She sat back down on the grass, and he followed her, his longs limbs carefully folded and comfortably settled. He watched her intently, while she took a long, calming breath, and reached down for her draconic link.

The connection purred and responded immediately to her cue. She took some time to feel it under her invisible touch, thinking about whom she could call forth. If she was to begin slowly, than Infuriae was out of the picture. There was only one option, really, and she scanned the other end of the link to find the creature she wanted. It took a few seconds for the chosen dragon to answer her call, and some more for the familiar surge of warmth to go up her body, as the air around her rippled.

While the portal opened slowly, Philae tried her best not to let her blooming anxiety to spoil everything. She focused on staying calm and composed, which was more difficult than what she could have thought. She was under no direct threat, nothing was urgent, so it was a question of controlling the amount of energy she had to use, and this was difficult to evaluate.

Finally, the connection was steady enough for the warp to get big enough for the dragon to come through, and a lime-green ball of pure adorableness sprung from the portal and landed on her lap, chirping happily and cuddling her belly with excited noises of greeting.

Toshinori witnessed the whole process with barely contained awe. He observed the way her eyes moved quickly under her closed eyelids, and the way the air bent around her frame, slowly forming a swirling warp. Her body tensed briefly, as if she was struggling to keep her Quirk in check, which made him stiffen. But then she relaxed again and let out a long breath, and he calmed down himself. The portal grew to the size of a large frisbee, and suddenly, a small scaly ball bolted through it. The former hero gasped and stared at the little creature, not expecting something so cute after the whole wyvern debacle.

Philae laughed merrily as her new companion tackled her affectionately, purring like a jet engine.

"Hey, you," she said giggling, "nice to see you, too. Missed me much?"

"Kriiiiii," it answered in a lovely rumble.

She took the creature in her arms and placed it comfortably in front of her, marvelling at its cute tiny scales shining like little mirrors under the morning sun. Small curled horns were pointing on its head, and its open maw showed pearly white, razor sharp fangs. She stroked its soft belly, earning a low appreciative purr as it let itself fall on its back to give her better access, its little wings batting lazily against the grass.

She checked herself mentally, and discovered that she did not consume as much energy as she expected. A pleasant buzz filled her head, and she felt slightly weary from the summon, but not as much as last time. The link stayed open and magic ran along it a little faster than usually, though it was the only difference there was with before. She assumed it was temporary and that it would come back to normal soon enough, with the portal now closed, and she could easily forget the tiny draining sensation.

She looked up proudly, relieved that she had succeeded in something without it turning terribly wrong. She caught sight of her teacher gaping at her dragon, a hand raised as if to pet it, but stopped mid-air and hanging over the creature, hesitating.

Toshinori, much to his embarrassment, found himself mesmerised by the sheer cuteness of the little guy, and wondered if its scales were as smooth as the looked. He was curious and he wanted to touch it. His fingers itched.

"You want to touch it?" Philae offered, his gaze snapping up to her. "This one's friendly, I promise."

It was useless to tell him that. The purrs and chirps the creature made were enough to indicate that he resembled more a pet than a scaring beast. The blonde blinked, more and more attracted to it by the second, and eventually nodded. She grinned and nudged the dragon, demanding its attention.

"Hey, Dryas, say hello," she told it, pointing to Toshinori.

The creature turned its head and looked at him upside down, intrigued, before it jumped back on its paws and hopped to him, sniffing and weaselling around him to examine every inch of his person. Satisfied with its thorough inspection, it bounced on his lap and used its claws to climb up on his shoulder like a squirrel.

Wincing slightly as the tiny pointy claws pierced mini holes in his shirt and pricked the tender skin of his torso underneath the fabric, the former hero watched the cute ball haul itself at eye level. Dryas looked briefly into his eyes, then emitted a low, happy rumble and nuzzled the crook of his neck clumsily.

He chuckled softly, petting the dragon and picking it to put it back down on his lap, fearing it might fall from his bony shoulder and chunk off a piece of skin with its claws. The lime-green scales were smooth like the surface of a mirror, but not as hard as he thought. He scratched its belly, surprised to find it so velvety. The creature chirped contentedly and nibbled on his finger, careful not to wound him.

"Is it a he, or a she?" he asked at last, while Dryas went back to Philae and nestled on her thigh.

"It doesn't have a gender yet," she told him, "I can't explain it, really, but I have the feeling it's too young, it will not present any gender until it reaches a certain age. It doesn't talk for the same reason, although it understands our language."

"How did you meet it?"

"That's... kind of a complicated story," she answered hesitantly, offering an apologetic smile, "I found myself alone in a difficult situation, one day, and in my sadness and despair, I felt the link vibrate. I pulled, and it came from the other end. It had felt my sorrow and offered me its help, and called a pack of wolves to help me get out of wherever I had managed to get lost in. Now, it gives me the possibility to communicate with animals, mostly mammals and birds."

"Oh, like Koda," Toshinori recollected.

Philae shook her head.

"Not quite. If I remember correctly, Koda can make any animal do his bidding, without question or resistance. I can't. I can ask animals for help, but it's up to them whether they actually agree or not. It's the same with the dragons, and with every being I have contacts with. My ability is about cooperation, not obligation. At least, I want it to stay that way."

"Mh," her teacher replied non-committally, "I understand. Well, it'll be perfect for you to begin your Quirk training. As I said, try to keep it as long as possible, and when you feel you tire too much, send it back. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she assured nodding enthusiastically, "don't worry, it went better than I anticipated."

She wanted to see for how long her summon could last, as she had never kept her dragons for more than a handful of minutes. She took Dryas in her arms, looking around for a place to put it so that it could occupy itself without interfering in her physical training. She spotted Aizawa under his tree, unmoving and staring dully into space, and she got an idea. She only hoped the dark-haired teacher would not chew her head off for her cheek.

She approached him carefully, checking if he was sleeping upright, and repressed a relieved sigh when he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. All Might followed silently behind, intrigued.

"Professor," Philae called clearing her throat, "may I ask you something?"

He thought he saw where she wanted to get at and did not want her to ask, but did not find the energy to refuse. He hummed and waited, certain he would regret it. She smiled nervously and put Dryas down, the dragon chirping quizzically at her. She crouched down and raised her index at it.

"Dryas," she told, "I need you to help me. I need you to stay here as long as possible, until I send you back. You're okay with that?"

Happy to be of use to its summoner, it bounced and cried out an excited "Kriiiiiii!". She grinned and nodded to Aizawa.

"Then I want you to stay with Professor Aizawa and behave. You protect him from harm, and you take care of him as if he were your most precious treasure. When I return, I want him to tell me you were the perfect guardian. You think I can trust you with this important mission?"

Aizawa's brows shot up and he stared incredulously at her. She did dare hand him the creature to babysit. She bit the inside of her cheek so as not to burst out laughing seeing his stunned face. She would have preferred doing this with All Might, who would not have minded the company, but she did not know if the blonde needed his freedom of movement during the training. The grumpy teacher was the safest option for today.

For a dragon, protecting treasures was the most important and honourable mission there was. Especially for a youngster, who needed to prove its capacity as a respectable dragon. She was sure that this way, Dryas would not go anywhere and feel valued at the same time. She just prayed that Aizawa would not feel offended.

Dryas let out a concert of chirps and sat down determinedly in front of the teacher, taking his task seriously. The dark-haired man looked down at his new security hound, then up at Philae, his eyes a mix of amusement and irritation. Her hands shot up in a peaceful gesture.

"It's the only way I know it won't go do God knows what," she explained hastily, "it will even help you, if you're thirsty, hungry, or anything. It's really affectionate, too, if you want to pet it..."

"No, thank you," he grunted huffing, a tiny smirk gracing his features nonetheless – of all the things he had had to put up with, this was a novelty –, "go train with All Might. You lost enough time as it is."

"Huh... you... you're alright with this?"

Toshinori advanced and grinned deviously.

"Of course he is," he piped in, "he can't resist adorable things, can he? I think he just won't admit he fell for the little guy or girl. Right, Aizawa?"

His colleague's gaze promised hell and pain for making fun of him, but he did not reply. The blonde patted his student on the shoulder.

"They'll be fine. Now, you should have some real training. Let's begin with some laps!"

After that, she spent her time running, making push-ups, and stretching. She completed exercise after exercise, losing track of time, and not thinking anymore. She focused on executing every movements perfectly, and controlling her breathing. It had been a while since she had last done so much sport in one single day. It was difficult, her limbs began protesting after the first hour passed – or so she thought –, but it felt good at the same time. She had the impression to begin something meaningful.

All Might was there with her, at all times. He ran with her, even though he looked flushed and discreetly coughed a little blood in the crook of his arm. He encouraged her with energetic movements of his arms and yells, like a merry drill sergeant. He did not spare his efforts ans did not stop a second to rest. He barely felt tired, anyway. He was so happy to be active again, it was all that mattered to him at the moment.

Philae still felt the link, somewhat faintly, but more and more present as time passed. She did not really know why, but she guessed it was only natural. She was pushing her body, and the connection tended to reflect how she felt. If it throbbed, it was only the mirror-effect of her arms and legs aching from the exertion. She paid it no more mind and missed the way the magical thread began twitching.

After some time, though, she got the strange feeling something was wrong. Her body should ache, that was only natural, but numb? How come she could not feel her toes, when she should have felt her muscles scream at her instead? Perplexed, she stopped her exercise, and reached down.

She turned very pale in an instant, and Toshinori immediately saw the change and got alarmed.

"Philae?" he called out. "Philae!"

At Aizawa's feet, Dryas was playing with blades of grass, looking occasionally for potential threats to its human charge, when suddenly, it stopped short and jumped with a yelp, putting the dark-haired hero on his guard. Aizawa looked down at the troubled creature, and followed the way it was looking. Then he caught All Might's worry voice, and his eyes widened.

Philae was swaying on her feet, nausea rocking her more and more violently. The draconic link, which she had overlooked for a long time now, flared and pulled at her insides painfully. She felt as if she were sucked into a dark hole, whose origin was located somewhere in the middle of her torso, just above her solar plexus. Black dots soon danced at the corners of her vision, while her brain frantically searched for an answer as to what was happening.

It came with a crashing wave of bile coming up her throat and nearly choking her. I have burnt too much energy, she thought, who could I let it happen?

Dryas wailed in panic and fear, and Aizawa launched himself towards her. _Stupid!_ he scolded himself. _She doesn't know her Quirk properly yet, you should have seen this coming._ Except that he could not, really. But he did not want to admit he could not have foreseen it.

His red gaze was about to block Philae's Quirk, when the dragon in front of him turned sharply to him and went crazy. Dryas, as if sensing what he was about to do, lashed viciously at his leg and sank its fangs into the flesh. He shouted in pain and lost focus, stumbling back and trying to snatch the devil away from his bleeding limb. It let go as soon as his eyes turned back to black, and the air shuddered around them.

Toshinori, panicked and fearing the worst, scrambled to get to his student. Philae threw up and clasped her chest, wheezing in pain, and a portal tore open above her head with a forceful gust of wind, sending the blonde flying a few feet back. Dryas wailed once again, standing conflicted and looking alternatively between her and the warp, and finally leapt through the latter. It disappeared with a pop, and she collapsed, her breathing ragged and her body writhing. Her consciousness evaporated.

Toshinori, appalled and frenzied, shot up to his feet, disregarding the blood he sputtered as he forced his muscles to get to Philae as quickly as he could. When he did, he got to his knees and collected her carefully into his arms, his mind a storm of emotions. What had he done?

Aizawa limped rapidly to them and checked his student's pulse, then her breathing. Both were there, but only barely. He could see the blood drain from her face, her unconscious form sagging in Toshinori's trembling arms, and he urged his colleague to move his ass.

"We have to get her to Recovery Girl, now!" he yelled.

That snapped the other from his stupor. With a strength he forgot he could muster in his weak form, All Might carried Philae all the way to the infirmary.

* * *

 **I hope** **it's okay** **XD**

 **Sorry for the little problem with separations, it seems the website doesn't want to be cooperative and I had to make do. I'll try again as soon as I come back.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Warning! This chapter countains graphic depictions of violence, manipulation, and mental abuse.**

 **Hopefully this will be the last angsty chapter for a while. It was needed though, for the characters' relationships to develop.**

 **Hope you'll enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6 – When your past burst through the door**

If Toshinori did not die from choking on his own blood, Recovery Girl would gladly finish his sufferings herself. The aged healing hero was small, but as she looked both Aizawa and All Might down with a furious gaze, she might as well be as tall as Mount Lady, and as deadly as the League of Villains.

She had reasons to be so enraged. With their irresponsibility, her patient had danced on the brink of death. Philae's vitals were at the lowest, all her organs threatened to shut down simultaneously at any moment, and it was a miracle the poor girl had not fallen into a coma.

Recovery Girl sighed heavily and eyed the two silent men. She had disinfected and bandaged Aizawa's leg and offered Toshinori some tissues, but had not uttered a single word during the whole process. They knew they had made a huge mistake. Her silent treatment only worsened the guilt gnawing at them, and she did not feel like relieving them of their burden just now. They ought to be guilty.

Toshinori, especially, was taking it very hard. He was looking at his shuddering arms pensively, his mind swirling with scathing comments and beating reproach directed at himself. _Pathetic. Stupid. Careless._ How could he have not noticed. How could he have let the girl almost exhaust herself to death. He was supposed to be the responsible adult here, and all he had been able to do was almost killing her. While he carried her to the infirmary, he had been seized by a crushing fear for the young woman, so strong that he could not hide it behind a smile. This time, nothing was alright. His anguish inhabited his whole being and he could not think about anything else.

He was a former hero, for God's sake! All Might would have thought further into every possible outcomes of the Quirk experiment, and chosen the least dangerous possibility. All Might would not have watched his student _die_ in front of his eyes. All Might had trained young Midoriya without any problem, and God knows the boy was reckless himself. So how, why...? His hands curled into fists, and he bit back a cry of rage and anxiety.

Toshinori had given in to his curiosity and wanted to see a dragon again. He had seen no real harm in a new summon, and trusted Philae could sense her fatigue growing. Clearly, she had not. And he had not been here to see it in her place and stop her on time. He clearly was a foolish, weak idiot! If he did not already feel like utter shit in all senses of the term, he would have slapped himself. What would he say to young Midoriya? For the boy would no doubt come to him to ask how the first training day of his new friend went.

Aizawa observed his colleague's contorted face, then Philae's pale complexion, and sighed inwardly. His leg hurt like hell, but it was clean and he welcomed the pain as a reminder of his failure. He wanted to rub his eyes until they bled, and scorned himself for letting this happen. He had promised Nedzu he would look after her, and he got distracted by a baby dragon as big as a cat. Way to be heroic. He felt dumb and useless. If the young woman survived, and if Recovery Girl did not kick his sorry ass to hell and back, his students in 1A would most certainly be a handful. He would have to handle a bunch of freaked-out balls of nerves, and he did not look forward to this.

"I'm so sorry," the blonde stuttered miserably after a long, long while of self-loathing, "I have no words for what I..."

"For what _we_ let happen," Aizawa cut him off, "there were both of us there, we share the blame."

"Oh, cut it with your blame," the nurse had enough and clipped through pursed lips, "this is not me you should be apologising to. You're lucky her body had some sort of survival instinct, sending the dragon back before she really was drained. She has barely enough to hold on, so I can't use my Quirk on her. What in the Lord's name were you _thinking_?"

"We... weren't," Toshinori admitted, "I thought she could feel her tiredness, and react on time..."

"See how that went. Clearly, you didn't foresee that she didn't even knew the full extent of her Quirk's drawback. This isn't like you to put your students in danger like that."

"That was our mistake," Aizawa replied, "we thought she was only a bridge between our world and the dragons', so that she used energy to open and close warps. We didn't expect that the link kept the bridge open, so that the dragon could go through anytime, and that it needed so much stamina to hold."

"Mh. Now that you know, I do expect you to be careful and do things properly."

"We will," the retired hero assured determinedly, "I won't find rest until we succeed."

He meant it. He would make amends one way or another. Recovery Girl nodded, satisfied with his answer. She leaned back into her chair, sighing tiredly, and eyed the sleeping form of her patient. She had seen a lot of things in her life, and witnessed a lot of terrible drawbacks Quirks could cause to their users. This one was ranking somewhere near the top, if not in the top three of the worst drawbacks, along with Midoriya's. She would do everything in her power to keep the girl alive, if only for her to be able to beat her two dumb guardians up. Right now, though, Philae needed rest. The nurse got up and dismissed the others.

"I believe you want to rest a little before class 1A comes back," she said, "so shoo. Go sleep or something. I'll take care of her and call you if there's any progress."

They remained frozen on the spot, conflicted. Aizawa's face did not give way of his internal debate, but All Might obviously did. The latter was frowning, his jaws set in a stubborn expression of refusal. She rebuked him with a light whack of her cane.

"Off you go!" she ordered impatiently. "You can come and visit later. After you sleep. I won't accept any of you until you look at least slightly rested. Understood?"

The two teachers straightened up and obeyed. Recovery Girl was on her territory, and her word was law here. Philae was in good hands, and even if they did not want to admit it, the craziness of the last events began to take its toll on them. A few quiet hours could only do good to them. Even more so, when they would be of no use for now.

They went out and parted in the corridor, sharing a look that said the same thing: they would make amends and do better. The dark-haired hero limped away to his beloved sleeping bag, leaving Toshinori to glance one last time at the closed door of the infirmary, before he himself headed towards the closest restroom.

* * *

Philae swam in darkness. Her head throbbed and her whole body pulsated wildly to the rhythm of her panicked heart. She felt hot and cold at the same time, and could not move a muscle despite the searing pain that threatened to tear them one by one. A loud clank echoed in her ears, and her eyes shot open.

The glaring light of a ceiling neon lamp blinded her for a moment, and she blinked away tears. When her vision cleared, she saw a concrete ceiling above her head. It did not resemble any ceiling she had seen at U.A High. Where was she?

A series of clicks and clanks answered her question, and she turned her head with some difficulty to see what was making the noise. Her eyes widened when she recognised the white blouse and gloved hands.

 _This can't be._

Her gaze trailed up the clinical uniform, to the strong neck and purple beard and hair of the scientist, then to his spectacled green eyes. Green like lethal acid. Like haunted pools of misery. Philae knew these eyes all too well. She had looked into them for long, long years of despair. The same kind of despair that was menacingly welling up her throat to her watery eyes.

She tried moving and trashing. A series of thuds responded to her command, as well as burning sensations around her wrists and ankles. She was strapped to the cold surface she was lying on. The man turned sharply towards her, his pupils gleaming with sickeningly sweet gentleness.

"Hallo, Schatzi," he said in German, his tone hearty, "you finally came back to us. I feared you'd be lost. I was so, so scared!"

She did not answer. Her words could not be found. She stared helplessly at Doctor Generalmajor Boris Schotten, Austrian physicist and head of the Secret Scientific Cell for Research in the Occult at Unit 731, who only chuckled at her lack of reply.

"I know it was frightening for you, too. You were gone for two days. Two! Do you imagine? We would have mourned the loss of a most valuable warrior! We couldn't have that."

 _What happened?_ She racked her pained braincells for an explanation. _I remember feeling tired, and Dryas, and... and the warp opened and closed. I fell unconscious, didn't I? This is only a nightmare._

The Doctor tutted and slapped her not so gently. She snapped out of her thoughts, her cheek burning with phantom pain. It felt familiar. She had lived this once. Back then, when she was still a small child.

"Don't think too much, you may hurt yourself," Boris joked, "again. We don't want that, now, do we?"

He produced a syringe from the stacks of tools he was tinkering with, with a light blue liquid swimming inside. Philae's eyes darted to it and yanked at her restraints. She did not want this to go into her. She did not want it!

"Tsk, tsk, Schatzi," the scientist scolded her, "if you are not cooperative, you know what will happen to your dear, dear brother. You don't want this to happen."

That got her to stop. Her stomach felt like frozen lead. Boris grinned when he got the intended effect of his comment.

 _This is just a nightmare_ , she thought over and over again, _Kai is safe_. She tried to convince herself, but her resolve melted away as the Doctor tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, his praising mad eyes diving deep into her soul. It had to be a nightmare... was it not?

"Sehr gut, meine kleine Puppe," he cooed, "now, we inject this little solution, and we go back to our good work, yes? Make me proud."

He stabbed her without waiting for her reply, and the poison she got injected with invaded her blood and fogged her mind. She shrieked at the top of her lungs at the sudden excruciating pain, then she passed out quickly, screaming silently for help. Help never came.

* * *

A whip cracked and made her jump. Disoriented, she opened her eyes and found herself in a sitting position, calloused fingers holding her chin and face firmly in place. A rough hand whacked the back of her head.

"Pay attention," a hoarse voice scolded next to her ear – Boris –, "or else he will be even more punished."

His last word made her flinch and be still. She could not do anything else and complied, crying out in horror at what she saw.

Kai was kneeling, his head low and his breathing difficult. A floor and a thick glass panel separated the siblings, and an intercom relayed everything that happened in the room where the boy was. Two men in uniform were holding him by the arms, spreading them eagle style. Another was standing in front of her brother's bare back, a short leather whip in hand, and already stained in blood.

Philae swallowed hard. _It's a nightmare_ , she reminded herself meekly. _It's in the past._

The Doctor squeezed her chin forcefully and pinched her arm to keep her on focus.

"Look," he demanded, "this is what he gets when you behave badly. He ought to be punished, because you're a bad girl. You disobey, he pays for you. Look at him!"

He then shouted an order in Japanese, and one of the soldier holding Kai lifted his chin with a gloved finger.

"Why are you here?" he asked with a strong accent.

Kai did not answer immediately, wheezing and coughing. Blood streaked down from his lips, and dropped in a small forming pool of scarlet on the cement floor. The soldier grunted in irritation, and nodded to his colleague. The whip cracked, sending a rattling wave of nausea up Philae's body. Her arm tingled, and her stomach hurt.

Her brother gritted his teeth and did not let out more than a low groan.

"Why. Are you. Here!" the soldier repeated. "Answer!"

Kai took in a ragged breath and finally replied, "Am 'ere t'be punished." Articulating words was hell. His back burnt. His whole body shook. But he did not faint. Slowly, Philae saw his shredded skin begin knitting itself back together. Too bad it would be torn back to pieces again, and again, and again. It was a way to tire him, she knew it. The torture would only end when his powers could not try to heal his wounds anymore. And he endured everything because of her.

 _This has to be a nightmare. Please, tell me it is!_

"Why are you punished?" came the second question. Behind the glass panel, Philae let out a whimper, but Boris shushed her.

The boy paused a second or two, before he answered, "'Cause my sis'er was bad."

He said that in a flat, matter-of-fact tone. It was not the first time this happened. It would not be the last. He was the ideal scape-goat for everything her sister did out of the ordinary. Sometimes, his back did not even have time to heal at least slightly, before it got torn open once again. It was normal suffering. It was routine. Philae felt sick and guilty, her inside churning and flaring with hate at herself.

"And you accept this?" Kai's tormentor continued with a sneer, shoving the boy's head to the side.

She cried silently. The Doctor petted her hair and cooed, "See? See what you've done? You should know by now, it's your fault he's punished harder each time."

"Please," she croaked, "don't do this."

"Don't do what?" he asked innocently.

"Don't punish him. Punish me instead. I was the one that was bad. I was a bad girl, and I need to be punished."

"It's good you admit your mistake," he grinned, "but your punishment is to see him punished. We cannot wound your precious body, but this is better like this. Only that way will you understand."

"Please!" she cried harder, "I'd d-do anything... Anything you want! Please..."

"Anything? We're getting somewhere, then! You'll be a good girl?"

She nodded.

"You won't bite me again when I inject you?"

She shook her head.

"You'll obey and become strong for us? You'll become our best Valkyrie?"

She hesitated a millisecond, then meekly nodded again. Boris's satisfied smile had never been so frightening.

"Wunderbar!" he exclaimed. "I prefer this good behaviour. If you do as you promised, your brother will be safe."

Kai raised his head and stared at the glass panel. He could not see what was behind, but he must have guessed there was his sister and her "caretaker", watching and listening. He knew. This too was routine. He turned to the interrogating soldier, who was ready to beat him again if he did not answer immediately.

"Yes, I accep' 'is."

Another whip. He nearly cut off his tongue from the pain, but refused to let out a scream.

"Yes who?"

He gritted his teeth. In the control room, Philae yelped and turned to the Doctor.

"I promised! Let him go," she begged. The scientist tutted.

"After he's punished. I agreed to let him be if you behave, but it would not be proper educational attitude to let your naughtiness of this morning go without a lesson. Once your lesson is learnt, we start anew."

"But... But!"

"But what, Schatzi?"

The green eyes darted dangerously at her, fires of madness dancing in his pupils. If she went against him, she knew it would be worse. She bit back a sob, defeated, and turned back to her punished brother, her eyes veiled with sorrow and self-scourge. He stomach boiled with grief and anger, and a low growl resonated in her head.

Kai felt the pain subside and found back his voice. Every word he pronounced, every painful heave of his chest, every drop of crimson he let fall on the floor, chopped his sister's hope and will into tiny pieces. She was breaking. Boris smiled contentedly. At last, she was in his reach.

"Yes, sir," Kai managed to say.

"And why is that?" the soldier continued with malicious joy.

"'Cause it's my duty."

"What duty?"

"T'be punished for wha' she did."

"Why's that?"

"'Cause I deserve it."

"Very well, _you_ at least know your place."

And the whip lashed out at him. Its morbid cracks filled his ears and made him deaf to the world. His back flared and oozed blood, leaking down his sides to his soaked knees. The metallic smell of it mixed with the stench of his sweat and grime, and his nostrils got assaulted by the poisonous cloud of his powerlessness. He lost track of time, as well as his own voice. He held his cries, until he could not anymore. His throat tore and he hacked crimson and bile.

His screams echoed in the control room, through the intercom that spluttered distorted howls of endless agony. Philae felt every single one like a blow to her heart, cracking little by little. Her cheeks were soaked in tears, and she wailed helplessly in the hold of the Doctor, who did not let go of her even if she tried to escape. She sobbed and flailed, in a desperate attempt to get to her brother's side. The nightmare replayed in front of her. There was no help. Only her. She felt a scorching blade of pain tear through her body, and yelled at the top of her lungs.

Her ears buzzed with roars and murderous threats that were not hers. A cacophony of emotions responding to one another rattled her brain. She felt overwhelmed and lost. The scientist's hand on her shoulder squeezed suddenly, in a bone-crushing grip, and she yelped at the suddent new pain. She struggled to get free, but the hand was like a hawk claw, firmly planted into her flesh. Then voice of Boris resonated strangely against the room's walls.

"Snap out of it," he growled, "come on!"

She did not understand. Kai's screams filled her ears, and she could not get free. She was trapped. Trapped forever with a madman. Her captor seized both her shoulders and shook her like a ragdoll.

"Damn it, woman! This is not real! Wake up!"

Wake up? Wake up how? Her overwhelmed brain finally caught on. The concrete walls slowly dissolved and the room spun around her. The Doctor's purple hair spiked to strange angles, and the green acid of his eyes went ablaze.

"You're dreaming," the not-scientist rasped. His voice changed, too. They had tones she had never heard in him. "You're fucking dreaming, so snap the fuck out of it and wake up!"

The spinning room whirled and crumbled around them. Unable to bear the rapidity of the changes, Philae closed her eyes forcefully and winced. She felt her body fall into nothingness. Her eyes snapped open with a gasp.

She met luminescent pools of angry red.

* * *

Bakugou Katsuki was furious. Well, no surprise here, he got easily pissed, but today he was even more so. The whole world was against him with its dumb internships to look for on his own, and the others' friendship nonsense really grated on his nerves. When he had had enough, he had asked Deku for a rematch on the training field and attacked the nerd with all he had. Shitty Deku and his fucking monstrous Quirk infuriated him as much as the new girl's annoying-as-hell wyvern. One day, Katsuki promised himself he would kick both of their asses at the same time, just for the pleasure of seeing them both at his feet.

He hated the stupid winged snake for making a fool of him. His ears had rung for a whole night and day, and he had wanted to blow anyone asking him if he was okay. He was not. The wench herself had come to apologise, and he had been ready to beat up her pretty face just for pitying him. He had been humiliated and wanted no apology, no pity, and no shit words of fake kindness. Bakugou could not think of anything else than his revenge on Philae, and damn him if he did not obtain it. He hated her guts just as he hated stupid, useless Deku, for showing him they were stronger than he and shoved it to his face. They would pay tenfold and cry for mercy.

He had observed Philae during their classes, waiting for an occasion to strike. She felt his gaze on her and looked embarrassed by it, which made him snort in irritation. Girls and their stupid conceptions. He might have called her on it, if fucking double face did not do the same. For what reasons, he did not have a clue, and Bakugou nearly felt compelled to blast his freaking face for stepping on his territory. _He_ would be the first to challenge dragon wench to a fight and to win. End of story. So back _off_ , you fucking ass prodigy.

Katsuki needed to vent his frustration. He fought the nerd like a bloody lion, and managed to break his arm. When Aizawa came to see this, the teacher nearly got his fucking ass handed to him and ordered him to accompany the weak dumbass to the infirmary. Bakugou raged for a full minute, before he saw the ink black bags under Aizawa's eyes and shut up. Their teacher had had a long day and was not about to deal with their shit any longer. So, the explosive teen relented and shoved Deku forward to go to Recovery Girl and be done with it. At least, he had blown off some steam. Thank God for fucking little miracles.

As they approached the infirmary in an awkward atmosphere, Deku mumbling under his breath and Bakugou ready to shut the former up with a punch, an ear-bleeding shriek pierced through the air. The nerd, as if on instinct, shot forward at full speed, and Katsuki swore running after him. They busted through the infirmary door and stared speechless at the scene in front of them.

Philae was trashing on a bed, ripping the IV off her arm and fighting against an enemy only she could see in her dream-induced madness. Her body shook and bled all over the sheets and floor. Above her, the air crackled and rippled, like the time when the wyvern had come out. Next to the bed, All Might was rubbing his head, nearly knocked out.

The girl let out a howl of pain and fear, and her back arched. Her forearm was glowing a dangerous shade of crimson. A golden form shone at the centre of the ripple. It was fucking gigantic, unlike the wyvern they had previously seen, and a menacing growl made the walls groan and crack. Bakugou's hairs stood up on his neck and his instincts screamed at him to get into a fighting stance.

Recovery Girl, standing at a safe distance from the chaotic scene, spotted them and shouted to get their attention.

"You two, try to catch All Might and calm Philae, until help arrives!"

Calm her? _Calm her?_ Bakugou wanted to yell at the elderly woman. He could barely calm himself when he was angry, and he had to calm freaking dragon wench having nightmares! Like hell he would!

"Move!"

Eraserhead had appeared behind them, eyes glowing red, and the golden form began to dissipate slowly, its roars shaking everyone and everything in a ten meter radius. Philae's arm still glowed for a moment, but the glow eventually dwindled, and a tattoo could be seen on her inflamed skin. Without looking away from her, the teacher howled over the inhuman sounds, "What are you doing? Someone wake her up! She dies if she summons, and I won't last forever!"

Katsuki and Izuku glanced at each other. The blonde nodded to the nerd, then sprung to Philae's side while the other got to All Might, still stunned on the floor, and helped him get away. Taking the girl in, Bakugou decided to pin her shoulder down on the bed, while his other arm shielded his head from her kicks. He might have used more force than he should, for she yelped and clawed at his gloved hand, her face contorted in pain.

"Snap out of it," he growled, "come on!"

She did not react and continued struggling against him, but he did not let go of her shoulder. He grew pissed at her antics. What the fucking hell was she dreaming about to be so wild?

"Damn it, woman! This is not real! Wake up!" he snapped.

He slapped her not so gently, which seemed to get her attention at what he was saying. About damn time! He had no patience for this shit. He concentrated to not hurt her further, though, hearing her ragged breath and seeing her tear-stained cheeks.

Slowly, her struggles weakened and her cries dwindled to heart-wrenching sobs, but she still did not wake up. She began mumbling incoherent shit like "Am so sorry, please, don't" and whatnot. Katsuki lost it and shook her with force.

"You're dreaming," he rasped, "you're fucking dreaming, so snap the fuck out of it and wake up!"

Philae let out a strangled noise, and her eyes snapped open. Her haunted gaze met Bakugou's, and his angry barb caught up in his throat. There was so many strong emotions in her eyes, that he felt trapped in a swirl of sufferings so intense that all his anger vanished instantly, replaced by a feeling he was unfamiliar with. It was not sadness. It was not fear. Was it _worry_? For a stupid wench he barely knew? Nah, not possible. He brushed the bugging sensation aside.

The girl's eyes searched his face for a moment, and a strange light shone in them. Her lips parted slightly, and a hoarse whisper escaped from them.

"Kai?"

Bakugou froze and a new vein popped on his head. Who the hell did she think she was...? He had no time to express his outrage, though, since she launched at him and hugged him like no tomorrow. He noted that her body was hot against his, she might have a fever. Then he caught up on the situation. The fuck she was doing?

"Kai!" she whined, sobbing helplessly on his shoulder. "Big brother, I'm so sorry! So sorry... I couldn't protect you, I-I was so weak. Please, don't hate me!"

The hell was happening? Katsuki's brain short-circuited, as he failed to understand what Philae was blabbering. She was taking him for her brother? Was she still dreaming? Was t because of the fever? He saw Deku approach them in the corner of his vision, arms reaching out to them. But when the crying girl caught sight of the nerd, she shrank closer to him and gripped his shirt harder, wailing in anguish.

"No!" she shouted desperately, "no, please! Don't punish him again! Don't, please!"

Izuku's eyes widened a fraction. She was afraid of him? How so?

"Ph-Phi," the green-haired tried, "Phi, it's me. Do you recognise me? We're friends!"

"Doctor," she murmured whiningly, "no, please... I'll be a good girl, I'll do what you want. I swear you, but please, don't punish him..."

She did not recognise them, as if she were still living her nightmare in the form of a powerful hallucination. Bakugou got the slightest bit embarrassed at the thought that she was clinging to him like both their lives depended on it. She was glued to his torso and soaked his shirt with her tears. Part of him was disgusted and furious that she dared take him for a fucking teddy bear and ruin his costume, but... the other part eventually guessed that he did not mind too much. Let her cry her heart out if it made her better.

She looked so frightened, that he could not find the will to shake her off him. He sensed this was not a simple dream, it went deeper than that. And it still weighed on his shoulders to get her out of it. Time to be professional for once, or Aizawa would really fancy the idea of expelling him. She needed his help, and he could not refuse her plea. It was his hero duty. He snuffed out the smaller voice that added he worried. He did _not_. He turned to her, trying his best not to look angry. Damn, was that difficult!

"Philae," he called, getting her attention immediately, "he's not going to hurt you. You're safe."

He chose his words carefully, subduing his usual rash tone to sound calmer, more poised and... well, less him. He knew how he was at times, and he could fucking tell it would not work on the paralysed girl holding him. For once, he would prove he had brains and show fucking Deku he was way better than he in this.

"Safe? But he..." Philae trailed off uncertainly.

"He's not coming near you," he assured with bold confidence, shooting a glare at the nerd to make his point to both of them. "He's not getting anywhere near you, promise."

Izuku whimpered and took a few steps back, which did not go unnoticed by Philae. She shivered against Katsuki, not completely convinced, and he repressed the urge to press her closer and to hide her from the others completely. So much fear in someone was abnormal, especially when he had observed no such thing during the whole three days he had been observing her. Anxiety and uncertainty, embarrassment and awkwardness, yes. Fear, absolutely not. He wanted to know why it came up so suddenly, and... And the fuck he was thinking! It was not his fucking problem.

"See," he added nodding to Deku, "he backs away, the coward. You're safe."

His words seemed to reassure her somewhat, for she sagged in his arms, still trembling and avoiding looking at him.

"He... he hurt you so much, and I... I could only watch. I could do nothing, nothing! Kai, I'm so sorry to be so weak, I'm so sorry..."

She began crying again, and Bakugou felt at a loss for words. He huffed, thinking hard to stop her sobs. They made him feel strange, mellow and frigging _soft_ , and he loathed it.

"I'm not angry at you," he did his best to sound reassuring and concerned, "so don't cry... sis."

He had added the last part on impulse, feeling it would do good for her to think he was familiar with her. It worked. She looked up at him, her clouded gaze hopeful. She really was not completely awoken.

"Really?"

He gruffed, "'course, silly. Why would I be? It was... not your fault."

"But the Doctor punishes you when I'm bad," she whined with a hurtful wince, "he whipped you so hard, and I..."

Whipped? Torture? Now that got shitty. _What the hell did she go through?_ , was the question whirling in everyone's heads.

"It was a damn nightmare," Katsuki snapped, his anger flaring when he finally got this piece of the fucking puzzle that was Philae, "he's not here anymore, and even if he were, he'd be dead by now. No way he's pulling that shit with us again."

She shut up and stared, tears shining at the corners of her eyes. He sighed, "I said I was not angry. So stop. It was a nightmare, nothing else."

That seemed to finally do the trick. Philae relaxed, looking relieved, and a veil of exhaustion passed over her gaze. She smiled tiredly.

"Thank you, big brother," she said in a quiet voice, just above a whisper, "I love you."

Bakugou had to remind himself she was taking him for her brother, because he was sure he would have flushed in spite of himself, and he would have to kill anyone who had seen him.

She hugged him harder, and he awkwardly returned the embrace, _not_ flushing. Deku and three other adults were watching.

"I... love you too, sis," he blurted out, his cheeks a little hot. _Damn it!_

All Might advanced carefully then, staying at a reasonable distance so that Philae could see him without feeling threatened. She eyed the former hero curiously, then she seemed to recognise someone in him.

"Orion," she murmured softly, "I'm sorry to have woken you..."

"No worries," Toshinori waved off, falling in character as best he could, "I'm more concerned about you. You look exhausted, you should go back to sleep."

 _Yes, I'm fucking done here_ , Bakugou wanted to say. He did not, though, and the same part of him that had nearly felt guilty, did not want to let go until he was sure everything was back to normal. Philae nodded slowly.

"Yes, but... may my brother sleep here, with me? I... I don't... Just, please?" she begged, her cheeks red from shame.

Katsuki's eyes shot to his teacher in alarm. No way he was going to sleep with her! _Ugh, don't say it like that, dumbass, that's wrong in all ways possible!_ Whatever. He did not want to share a fuck-frigging bed with her. He wanted to sleep alone, not with her next to him. He wanted to be alone. To be out before he ended up blowing everyone's head off because he was _blushing_. Now.

All Might understood and his attention went back to his student.

"I'm sorry, but... Kai, can't stay with you. I suppose you understand why?"

He tried to sound as familiar to her as possible, and hoped she would come up with a reason why her brother-Bakugou could not stay on her own. Apparently she did. She looked down, sad and ashamed, before nodding.

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry, it's just... I got so scared he was back to the lab, tortured and beaten when I could do nothing. I... Sorry."

She began trembling again, biting on her lower lip in an attempt to stop breaking down again. Toshinori then opted for the only other option he had.

"He can't, but I can. I will stay," he offered, "so that I can guard your sleep instead of your brother, and he can rest. What do you think?"

"You will? Really?"

"Of course!" he assured. "I won't let you alone, not if I can help it."

Philae smiled her first genuine smile, and relaxed completely. Carefully, and as gently as he could, Bakugou put her back down on the bed. She let him, her gaze never leaving his face. The veil covering them and making them duller than usual crept him out just a bit. He took small steps backwards and moved slowly away from the bed.

"You better sleep," he demanded scowling. She gave a slight nod, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

Toshinori advanced towards the side of her bed and put a reassuring hand on her arm, which she took in hers. The teacher offered her his brightest and gentlest smile, to which she answered with a thankful grin of her own, albeit small and sleepy. Eventually, Philae's eyelids closed, and her breathing got steady again. Peaceful, at last. She still held Toshinori's hand, and he did not wrench it away. Instead, he put his other hand on top of the two.

Izuku approached cautiously with a chair for his mentor to sit down on, as he had apparently decided to stay by his student's side for a long while. Bakugou, for his part, took this as his chance to go away and did so with a huff, stopping at the door to look back at the sleeping girl and his teacher. Recovery Girl came to him and patted his arm.

"You did good, boy," she praised him, "we wouldn't have done this without you."

"Tch," he gruffed, thrusting his hands in his pockets, "whatev'. I'm glad she stopped crying. She was annoying."

The nurse gave him a knowing smile, meaning she had seen the stupid emotions that danced in his head. Aizawa addressed him and said, "We'll talk about it later, Bakugou. Go have some rest in the meantime, and tell the others I'll be coming shortly."

He nodded and stormed off. The dark-haired teacher sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"What a day," he grumbled.

"Indeed, it was," Toshinori hummed.

The blonde's gaze turned back to Philae, his heart beating a little more calmly now that the crisis had passed. He vowed he would not budge from his spot until she woke up again. He had finally encountered the biggest enemy she had, and he would protect her from it with all his might. He would not rest until then. It was his duty, and now, he found that it was his deepest wish.

He had felt so useless. If not for young Bakugou role-playing, she might have died. He loathed the idea that he had let her endanger herself twice now. He never wanted to see her that broken again. If anything, he wanted to make her smile again, that radiant smile that had warmed all his being in an instant. Like when he had promised young Midoriya he would make him into a hero, he silently promised Philae he would free her from her nightmares. He could do this, he knew it.

Izuku fidgeted next to him, and he looked at the boy quizzically.

"She...," the green-haired stuttered miserably, "she was afraid of me."

Recovery Girl came to clean the mess and shook her head at him, kissing his arm to repair the broken bone for which he had initially come.

"No, she wasn't. She was afraid of whoever she thought you were. It's called sleep paralysis, and we had a very peculiar example of this. In her delirious state, she transposed a memory on reality and thought young Bakugou was her brother, who was certainly the one getting her out of these nightmares most of the time. Your friend reacted very well, and I'm thankful for that, otherwise it could have become ugly. Hallucinating patients are very dangerous for themselves. We were lucky Shouta was able to stop a new summon from happening, and that the situation got handled that quickly."

"Mh. I'll talk to Principal Nedzu and inform him of these new developments," Aizawa announced, "and I'll get back to the dorms. You should go too, Midoriya," he added, to which the teen turned to him. "For now, it'd be best if you went back to your room."

"Oh." Izuku did not know what to say next. "Um, okay..."

He hesitated, his eyes surveying the young woman lying in deep slumber, and his teacher sighed.

"Don't worry, All Might will stay with her," he assured, "and I will take turns in guarding her. No more nightmares for her so long as we're here."

This seemed to convince the teen, who eventually agreed and went out. The three adults shared a relieved sigh when the door closed.

"I think we'll need answers about her past," Recovery Girl commented worryingly. "I only hope she will be willing to give them. Poor child..."

Toshinori could only agree. He squeezed Philae's hand unconsciously, as he thought of the grief the questions would undoubtedly inflict on her. He hated seeing his students hurt, but he felt as if her sufferings pierced his heart even deeper. He would have given everything to avoid her pain. He thought about something that could make amends for that later, and that could have her face graced with the beautiful smile he so wanted to see again.

* * *

 **... I feel horrible ^^"**

 **NB: Unit 731 was a secret scientific unit in Japan during WWII, where experiments were conducted on human subjects to create bacteriological weapons. I took some liberties with this, and you will learn more in the next chapter.**

 **NB 2: No, this WON'T be a Bakugou/Philae, no worries XD but I'm a little disappointed that Bakugou has not as many possibilities to be heroic as Izuku in the anime, so here I thought he could show off a little ^^ and it will be useful in the following chapters ;)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello all :D**

 **I'm really sorry for the delay, I've had a lot on my plate lately, and this chapter was quite intense for me to write.**

 **I hope you'll like it.**

 **Cheers!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7 – Shadows in your eyes**

Philae was swimming back in thick darkness. She welcomed the peace. Her nightmares had quieted, and she was safe. She was home. Never had her stepfather been so warm and protective with her, and she would not complain. Not when he was guarding over her sleep with so much efficiency. And Kai could rest. That was important. She let herself drift gently, lulled by the comforting warmth radiating from her left hand, the one undoubtedly nestled into Orion's. He was an unmovable anchor, a reminder of where reality and security lay. She was grateful for this. She would have to thank him again.

Slowly, her mind reconnected to her body. Pain came, but it was dulled. Maybe she was given painkillers to relieve her of the excruciating aftermath of her over-exertion. She knew she had been stupid, not to hear the alarms blaring in her body. She had never tested the draconic link for so long. She did not know it could react that way.

She eventually noticed that something was not right. Why would she have tested her abilities with the link, if she was at home? She did not need it, and she could not use it, with Orion covering Philae and her brother's past. Had she not activated the power to travel through worlds? Had she returned to Crawford Hall and forgotten about it?

No. It was not possible. She could not travel back so soon. She would have to be at the fullest of her capacity and stamina to breach the borders and slip through again. So, she was not at Crawford Hall. Where was she, then?

As though this question won over her wish for peace, she felt herself emerge back to consciousness, guided by the warmth on her hand. Her mind made one again with her heavy body, and she willed her eyes to open. Her blurred vision caught flashes of unkempt yellow hair. Far from Kai's blueish-grey locks, and even further from Orion's smooth platinum mane. Who...?

Philae blinked a few times, her brain feeling like mush as it processed this piece of information with some difficulty. Focusing on her hand, she found it covered by long, skinny fingers that held her firmly and gently at the same time. The person to whom the limb belonged was asleep, snoring softly, eyes hidden behind their unruly bangs. They were half lying on her bed, half seated on a chair, and covered with a blanket. Looking away from her guardian and around, Philae made out the outlines of more beds along the walls of the room, all empty, and a window that let the moon peep through and cast a soft light on the tiled floor. The infirmary?

Memories of the last events were clearer to her, now, and she remembered her first – disastrous – training session with All Might. When she collapsed, she thought she had heard him call to her. He had been there, and so had Professor Aizawa. A picture of their faces came to the surface of her foggy mind, and she realised the blonde sleeping at her bed-side was her teacher. If she were not so tired, she might have gone fifty shades of scarlet. Had he stayed to monitor her, make sure she did not have another near-death experience again?

Sleep tugged at her again, as she had answered the question that had her awoken in the first place. With a sigh, she drifted back to the peaceful darkness where she had been resting, hoping All Might would be there when she woke up for good.

* * *

Toshinori's back was killing him, creaking and cracking with every movement he dared make, and his legs felt as heavy as lead despite their thinness. It did not matter to him, and he chose to ignore them. His aches and personal comfort were not important. Philae's recovery was. She had let herself in his care, albeit unknowing of who he really was, but still. A sort of trust pact had been established between the two of them, and the retired hero would not betray her.

He put up with his hurting body, his will overcoming his physical pains, and only allowed himself some moments of rest when Aizawa came to replace him, or when he was too exhausted to do anything else than sleep. He had dozed off multiple times, his hand never leaving his student's, and his dark-haired colleague had often grumbled at his careless behaviour. Recovery Girl gave him an earful whenever she happened to find him sleeping in highly uncomfortable positions, and she was right, because his body felt even more cumbersome and painful after that. He still did not care, though, and the elder nurse ended up leaving him do what he wanted, warning that she would not heal him. Except she probably would, but she did not say it out loud.

His hero colleagues replaced him in his classes. Midnight and Present Mic took shifts in this task without complaining, only encouraging him and hoping his student would be fine soon. They were all so kind and helpful – not only as heroes, but as friends –, that the blonde felt even more determined to stay and guard over Philae. He decided she was completely in his care, now, his and no one else's, and he had to do good for his careless teaching and mistakes, as well as the hurtful past the intensive use of her powers seemed to have unveiled. It was his fault, in a way, so it was his duty and deepest wish to counter it.

Sometimes, young Midoriya would come by on breaks, especially during lunch, to bring him meals and refreshments, and to ask for any news on Philae's condition. Aizawa had told the blonde he had had a hard time calming some of his students in 1-A down when they heard about her accident, and Midoriya had been chosen as messenger to relay news and comforting words. He came twice a day, sometimes more, and stayed an hour or so to chat with Toshinori while surveying his friend from the corner of his eye.

The boy felt guilty to have reminded her of unhappy memories. She had called him "Doctor", and her behaviour being almost that of people suffering from PTSD, Izuku, Toshinori and Recovery Girl had concluded that this Doctor must have been a tormentor of sorts. The teen had ventured she had been a test subject, or an intern in a psychiatric facility, where she had obviously been mistreated along with her brother. The nurse had added that mental manipulation had been used, with Kai as leverage. Pieces of the puzzle was slowly falling into place, but there remained big questions Toshinori would have to ask sooner or later. He dreaded that moment.

Philae slept for a whole week. Her constitution was a tough one, and Recovery Girl had noticed it was healing quicker than a normal human one. Maybe it had to do with her draconic link, or maybe it was something else entirely. After all, her file did say she was around ninety years old, and she still looked and acted like a seventeen-year-old girl. She was so complex to decipher that science found its limits there, even with the knowledge of quirks all around the world. Toshinori was amazed and intrigued. Part of him was still curious and eager to know who she was, where she came from, what she lived before she came in their world, and... maybe, if he could help her dealing with her worries and sorrows. He had seen them in her, and he could hardly think of anything else. He nearly died to try and find a balm to them. If only he knew...

He spent long hours with ifs and a number of questions without answers. In his conflicted, tired state of mind, he almost failed to notice Philae's eyes flutter open, if not for her hand twitching in his. His attention snapped to her in an instant, watching her slowly wake up and take in her surroundings, himself included. She looked calm and aware, meaning that hopefully she was back to reality and not in another kind of hallucination. The former hero did not think he could take another round of her crying and looking as if he could kill her and her loved ones. It was too heart-wrenching.

She looked at him with half-questioning eyes, as if she tried to replace him. When her face showed recognition, her cheeks tainted with the faintest flush of red.

"Ah, A-All Might," she stuttered, "you...?"

Philae had some difficulty to speak. Her throat felt sore and unused, and her mouth was dry. She had almost come to think she had dreamed him being at her side, but obviously she had not. She did not know what to ask first. She wanted to ask if her teacher had been here the whole time she had been in the infirmary. If he had had any sleep. If he was alright. If he would forgive her for being stupid.

Toshinori saw her questions written all over her face and smiled. She looked far livelier and herself now, which he preferred immensely. Recovery Girl noticed her awakening and scurried off to them, a glass of water in one hand and pills in the other, and she handed both to her. Philae could not help feel a little colder where All Might's hand left hers so that she could take the glass and medication.

The nurse came up to her and examined her eyes, then her pulse, all the while speaking.

"Take those," she indicated the pills, "they're nutrients and vitamins to boost your system, and painkillers to get rid of remaining aches. I put out the IV yesterday, so now you have to take everything orally."

Philae repressed a shudder when she heard about the IV, and she was relieved that it was not in her body anymore. She swallowed the pills with a mouthful of water, and the fresh liquid felt like nectar in her mouth. She finished her glass in a flash and nearly choked in the process.

"Slow down, will you?," the elder woman chided her, "No one's going to steal it from you."

Toshinori let out a chuckle and she turned back to him. The blonde was smiling, and despite the dark bags adorning his eyes, they were shining.

"More?," he offered, and she nodded gratefully.

He got up slowly, his stiff limbs protesting as he forced them to move. He winced and hurried to the sink. Her gaze followed him as he filled up the glass with cool water. She felt guilty at his evident discomfort, and at the same time, she felt safe and at home. Like when she was at Crawford Hall. A feeling of nostalgia got to her. She missed her brother and her adoptive father.

She accepted the glass with gratitude and sipped more slowly this time, relishing in the relief it brought on her tongue. Recovery Girl had left them in peace, and her teacher was sitting back on his chair, attentive and more relaxed. He was very, very happy she was up.

"I'm glad to see you're better," he began, "we got really scared out there."

He was referring to her over-exertion during training. He doubted she remembered the hallucinated episode with Bakugou, and he honestly did not know where to begin. He supposed he would have to start with the first incident she could remember, and go from there.

Philae looked down at her lap, ashamed. All Might was so kind, so considerate, and she felt bad for worrying him.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, "I didn't know I..."

"No, no, _I_ 'm sorry," he cut her off, "I shouldn't have let you exhaust yourself like that. I thought you burned a certain amount of energy when you summoned and when you sent the dragon back, and I supposed the creature would regularly draw on your stamina to stay in our world, but only little by little. What I didn't account for, however, is that it goes deeper than that. In fact, you're a catalyst between our world and the dragons', and you have to give up energy not only for the summoned creature to stay, but also for the bridge between worlds to remain open. So, your stamina burned twice as quickly, and I didn't even think of this possibility. I feel silly and apologise for this mishap."

It made sense. Philae had also had the same first theory. After all, it was that way that she travelled through worlds, on a different scale. However, she had not imagined the bridge had to stay open the whole time the dragon spent in her world. Actually, she had not had many occasions to discover this essential piece of information, and she was sorry to find it out in such unfavourable circumstances. But what was done, was done. Now, she would be more careful, and listen to herself.

Toshinori was having similar thoughts. He would have both eyes open from now. He still had other subjects to broach at the moment, though.

"I promise you I'll adapt my programme according to this new piece of information, but only if you still want to train with me. I'd understand if you didn't..."

"No! I mean, yes, I still want to train with you," she exclaimed, "I trust you. It wasn't your fault. I should've known..."

The blonde shook his head and patted her shoulder lightly in a comforting gesture.

"Let's stop trying to determine whose fault it is, shall we? It's in the past now." He smiled wider to prove his point. "We'll be careful and it won't happen again, okay?"

She agreed, showing a small smile of her own. Toshinori grinned at that. It was a small victory.

 _Now, to the biggest matter at hand_ , his brain reminded him grimly.

His smile faltered a little, but he decided he could not avoid it any longer. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest, debating on how to start. Philae cast him a questioning look, puzzled.

"I...," he swallowed and started, "I'd like to discuss something with you, now. About your past..."

He slapped himself mentally when he saw her face pale and crumble. _Shit! Way to be tactful, you idiot._ But he could not back-pedal. He had to go all the way through.

"You won't have to say anything, if you don't want to," he tried to reassure her feebly, "it's just that we're all really worried, and we... I hate feeling powerless when... er..."

He fumbled with words, unable to express the storm going in his head while he had witnessed her break down in Bakugou's arms. A crushing sense of uselessness and anguish had nagged at him. He would have given up everything to stop her living nightmare. He could not say it like that, though.

Philae tried to control her shock to prevent it from turning into a full blown panic attack. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, to the point it hurt. Did something happen when she was unconscious? Did she show something of her nightmares involuntarily? She realised she had a hole in her memories. What did she forget?

"What happened...?," she asked numbly.

Instinctively, Toshinori reached out to take her hand back in his and hold it comfortingly, like he had done during her sleep. He could not do much more, to his huge dislike, but at least he would show he was here and did not leave her alone with her thoughts. It seemed to work. She glanced down and ceased to tremble. Her pulse slowed down a tiny notch, but it slowed down nonetheless. Once she got calmer, the former hero licked his lips and took a breath to answer.

"You had a nightmare, I think. You were trashing and struggling against an enemy we couldn't see, and when you finally woke up... well, you thought you were somewhere else, with other people."

It clicked in her head. Now she understood why she had thought she was back at Crawford Hall. Self-loathe and disgust at herself made bile rise up her throat.

"Am I going mad?," she whispered.

All Might held her hand tighter.

"No! Of course not," he refuted, "you were disoriented and terrorised, and you tried to find something to comfort you, I think. And you transposed the first comforting figures you could have thought of on us. I can totally understand this, and it's normal if your nightmare was that terrible. You're perfectly normal, only human and..."

 _And deeply traumatised, scarred, haunted._ That too, he had to silence. He desperately searched for something nice to say to her, to make her forget about her unrealistic ideas. He was crap at this and did not want to mess up, but he felt only he could do it. Philae sniffed and, after a moment, nodded.

"I suppose, yes. What did I say?"

She saw All Might hesitate, and her stomach froze.

"All Might?"

"Sorry, I didn't know how to say it correctly. Are you sure you...?"

"Yes, please. I need to know." After a pause, she added, "I'll try explaining if possible. I can't promise I will, but... I'll try."

It was a great effort on her part, he realised. Few people knew about her past. And if she could tell him, he would be one of those few people she could trust enough with her burden. With a sense of responsibility he welcomed without a second thought, he started his explanation.

"You thought young Bakugou was Kai, your brother, and you held him as if he would, er, I mean, as if something terrible would happen if you let him go." He managed not to say _die_ at the very last moment, and sighed mentally at that. "When Izuku tried to come near you, you got terrified and called him 'Doctor', and you talked about being punished and a bad girl. Young Bakugou managed to calm you down, acting as your brother as best he could, and when you saw me approaching, you thought I was Orion and I promised to guard you in your sleep. That reassured you, and you fell asleep. That's about all, I guess. And before you apologise for whatever you may think you should apologise for, don't. Please. Nothing's your fault, okay? We're not mad, and we certainly don't want you to feel guilty. We're just worried, and... well, I'd like to help you more than I did back then. Hence the discussion we have now."

He had added the last part on impulse, to show her he did not want to know for the sake of knowing alone. A treacherous part of him whispered that he was curious, that he died to know, and his more chivalrous side bellowed that was only because he wanted to help her. Was it only, though? The retired hero growled inwardly and stopped there his train of thoughts. Right now, he was not here to introspect.

He had blatantly hidden the near-summon part, suspecting it would have made her panick instantly. It had not completed, and there was no need asking for too much information at once. There would be a better time for that specific part. However, what was urgent was that he understood exactly what could cause her PTSD of sort, and how they could work something out together to make incidents stop.

Philae looked frozen and shocked. All her thoughts had stopped abruptly, as she digested the sheer horror of what had transpired during her hallucinating fit.

 _By the gods_ , she wailed internally, _what have I done?_

No wonder All Might and the others wanted to know more about her past. She had just thrown the whole thing with the Doctor at them, but not enough for them to fully understand the situation, and she needed to bring the most important and hurtful pieces of the puzzle herself. She could not do it. Even though it haunted her, she could not spit it all out to a stranger who had nothing to do with it, and who surely did not want to get involved in that shit.

Nevertheless, her teacher deserved to know, after what he had done for her. He had stayed at her side for a very long time, despite the fact it might have caused him pain and discomfort, and he had done so without a second of hesitation. He was a stranger, yes, but he did care about her, in a way, and he seemed genuine in his worry. She would really be ungrateful if she did not say a thing. He might be the only chance she had to lift off some of her hurt and regrets from her shoulders.

While she debated with herself, Toshinori stayed silent and unmoving. He feared that if he did as much as raise a finger, she would jump and be unreachable forever. He was so close to know. He was about to finally try and help her. Be here for her, and not only in case of emergency. So even though he felt his mind in turmoil, in the outside he appeared patient and open. He waited. He would wait for as long as she needed.

After long minutes of silence, during which not even Recovery Girl disturbed them - she apparently was not coming back before long -, Philae raised her head. She had made her decision. She looked at All Might, her gaze steadier. She took a deep breath.

"I-I don't know if I'll be able to tell you everything," she began uncertainly, "but I'll try my best to help you understand."

"Of course, I'll take everything you can give me, but I won't insist if you don't want to tell everything. You just have to say it."

"Okay. Well," she licked her lips, "I shall start with the very beginning. I was born around 1930-something, in France. When my parents knew about Hitler's ascension to power, they fled to a tiny village in the mountains of Greece. They knew of his passion for the occult, and the ancient legends, and it's said our blood is related to some antique people of the like. In short, he was dangerous if he knew of us. So my parents fled with me and Kai, and I grew up in relative peace, hidden from the world. That's what my brother told me, at least. But the Germans knew of us, I don't know how, but they knew, and they found us unaware. My parents were killed trying to take us away, and we were drugged and brought to a place I don't recall much of. From there, things are jumbled..."

She did not detail the reek of blood, the screams of her father hiding her from them, the gunfire and the wails of her mother. She did not talk about the barks of the soldiers, their rough hands, and the desperate calls of Kai as he struggled to get to her, only to be knocked out by a vicious jam of a rifle butt in his stomach. She could not. Toshinori guessed them nonetheless. He nodded and waited for her to continue if she wanted, forcing his thoughts not to go wild at what she was saying just now. He would take it all, and then he would think about what he learnt. It was safer that way, for both him and her.

"I think we got put into a coma of sorts, from which they could draw us from easily, because I felt as though I had slept for a long time when I woke up. Next thing I remember is the lab, and the Doctor. His eyes were green, like acid that could seep into your very soul and make everything rotten. Maybe that's why I thought Izuku was him... Anyway, he was my new 'caretaker', as he put it, and his job was to... how can I say it? Tame me, I suppose. We were in unit 731, and I was to become a Valkyrie, a supersoldier obeying only to the Führer, or a brainwashed weapon. You choose."

She remembered the Doctor made her listen to Wagner's _Walkürie_ , to make her realise just how exceptional she was, like the energetic and soaring tones of the music implied grandeur and power. The power of the Reich she was to become a part of. All the while when he drew blood on innocents. She repressed a gag and focused on her tale.

"He could use all means necessary to make me submit and break. His favourite was to punish Kai instead of me, for everything he considered wrong. He... My brother's ability is a kind of extreme regeneration, he heals super quickly and could even heal serious injuries on others, if he had the necessary stamina for that. They wanted to turn him into, I don't know, an angel of death? A mascot of the SS? They weren't fixed. However, he was their favourite scapegoat to punish in my place, and they made me watch. It was horrible."

She tried expressing things with simple words and short sentences. Toshinori could see why. His guts lurched and burned with fury at what the Doctor and his acolytes had done. For the first time since he had become All Might, he felt hatred. Pure, scathing hatred and want for revenge. He wanted to break something, to show the world he was furious and... and he reined his flaring temper at the last minute so as not to frighten his student. Now was not the time for that.

"Could you just explain to me what Unit 731 is?," he asked carefully. She nodded.

"It was a hidden facility in Japan, where they experimented on humans to develop biological weapons. Kai and I were special cases, and no file on us was to exist for more than a few days. We were detained in Japan for security reasons, I think. It was too dangerous to keep us with what they considered scum in the concentrating camps in Europe, and Japan was an ally they secured with our presence on Japanese soil."

The blonde accepted the explanation. It made sense, in a terribly logical way. Treating human beings as scum, test rats, cattle or exchange currency was horrifying. But at the time, it undoubtedly was quite common. Accepted, even.

"May I..." he paused. "May I know why you haven't used your powers much? Is this because of the Doctor?"

Philae hesitated at that. She had told so much, she might as well go to the end of the story, but would her teacher not consider her a monster when he knew?

"I... did a terrible thing," she trailed off, "something I should be punished for, and I'm sure you'll hate me..."

"Nonsense," he waved her off, "I could never hate you."

That sounded better in his head, and he admonished himself for his stupid choice of words. She was not convinced.

"You will, and I don't think I'd be able to bear someone as kind as you hating me, even if I'd deserve it."

"Philae..." Again, he searched for the right words to say, feeling miserable when they did not come to him. "I won't force you to tell me. But please, I assure you, whatever you did will never deserve my hatred. What they did to you and Kai does. But you? Never."

 _Never you... Oh, Gosh, now I sound cheesy and old. Stop it._

She gulped, gathering her courage.

"I-I don't know how long I was there, tortured and breaking little by little. I felt so weak, so powerless, and it killed me. And one day... One day, I bit the Doctor's hand when he tried to inject me another dose of stuff I didn't know the use of. And so, Kai was to be whipped. But this time they were even more vicious and crueler than before, and they made me watch until he got all red and bloody. It was butchery, real butchery... and I thought 'If only I could kill them all, and flee with Kai. If only someone could come and end it all.'. I had called God, and prayed, and begged, and no one had ever answered. But that day, someone did. In my head."

She ceased to speak and rubbed her arm, where her tattoo was. Long and red, the serpentine body was almost dull on her pale skin. Toshinori connected the dots, and realisation hit him like a cold shower of icebergs.

 _Don't tell me..._

"Was it a dragon?," he managed to ask.

A nod.

"And... what did he say?"

Silence. Then, slowly, she raised sorrowful eyes at him, and his breath caught up in his throat.

"He said 'If that's your deepest wish, I shall grant it.' And then, hell broke loose and we could bathe in their blood. There was so much..."

It was too much to handle. She retched at the memory and was somewhat glad she had not eaten anything solid for days.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello all :D**

 **Here is chapter 8! I see more and more people follow this story and I couldn't be happier :D Thanks for your support and kind words 3**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8 – The line in-between**

Toshinori could only stare wide-eyed. Honestly, he had expected such an outcome, but hearing of it was still something. As a hero, he had had many occasions to gaze into death's eyes, and he himself had escaped the reaper more than once. But pro heroes never killed intently, nor did they try to cause unneeded harm to citizens as well as villains. They respected life above anything else, since it was the very thing they vowed to protect. Life and peace were what they pursued.

So when Philae told him that she had – not so – unintentionally killed a whole scientific team, even if those were cruel, heartless bastards, his first reaction had been to jump backwards and gasp. A stupid, instinctive reaction he had from years of trying to avoid the death of others at any cost. His student had summoned a dragon to erase a group of human beings from existence. They had beaten her brother, played with her child mind, manipulated and abused her mentally, and tried to turn her into a mindless weapon. And for that, she had murdered them all, with the clear intent of ending their lives.

All Might felt appalled, disgusted, and upset at that. He also felt compassion for her, and he was still angry at those bastardy people for pushing her to this. For it was not only her fault, he reasoned, and it had been an extreme outcome after extreme, unbearable conditions. Slowly, he tried to grasp what it had meant for a small girl to think this. He tried to put himself in the place of a child of ten-something, witnessing the daily tortures of someone dear to him. He tried to picture the scene in his head, and all the consequences on an immature mind. He felt nauseous, and yet he knew it was only a fraction of what Philae should have experienced at that instant.

If he was that shaken by all this, being a stranger, he could not imagine how the young woman felt. Hell, she was on the verge of vomiting at the mere memory of it! The blonde had not known her for long, but if his intuition was right, she had been tormented ever since it happened. He could not have been mistaken in sensing she could become a great hero, and so that she could protect life. She was not someone to kill so easily, he could not believe it.

Still, he could not come to terms with the fact that she had _intended_ to kill. She had _wanted_ death. It had been a _choice_ , albeit a short-lived one. And this, above everything else, was unacceptable for him. He could reason all he wanted, All Might could not let it pass like that. After years of justice and peace and defeating evil, he was almost ready to clasp shackles around the pale wrists of the hands he had, not ten minutes ago, held so tightly with the wish to take away Philae's sufferings.

 _Why am I feeling guilty, like I'm too late?_

A headache was beginning to make himself noticeable behind the former hero's eyes, its painful drum echoing his racing heart. His heroic self kicked and yelled at the wrongness of what his student had done, and his weaker, plainer self strangely found excuses for it. The more he thought about it, the more conflicted he got, and he wanted to hit his head hard against a wall for _not knowing what to think_.

 _Why does it have to be that way?_ , he lamented. _Why can I not act like I always do?_

He needed time to wrap his mind around all this, before he snapped and did something really careless and regrettable. His thoughts a whirlwind of nonsense, he jumped on his feet and rushed outside, nearly knocking Aizawa off his feet behind the door, and fled to his office. He vaguely heard his colleague ask him something, but he did not look back. He was too busy running and not feeling like a coward. Except he was, and he already loathed himself for it.

Philae saw him run away after her revelation, and grieving misery overwhelmed her. She knew he would consider her a monster, and he was right doing so. It still felt horrible to face this harsh reality, and it was as if she was a little girl again, bathed in blood and realising what she had just done. She could never forgive herself for this. It was not something that should be forgiven.

She tried gathering her thoughts to come to terms with the fact that she would have to go away, maybe to prison, maybe worse. It was inevitable, now. She comforted herself at best she could, thinking that at least she did not tell it to Naomasa or Nedzu, but to All Might, the one that had to know the most for all he had done for her recently. And she felt all the more horrible for betraying him after that. And he reacted just as she thought he would. She should have obeyed and been a good girl. She should have done nothing and let herself be used. Now look what it did to rebel. Look what it did to take justice into your own hands.

Aizawa stared in the direction he saw Toshinori flee like he had the devil at his heels, then turned to Philae's hunched and shaking form. He had left for less than two hours, and hell had seemingly broken loose during his absence. How his colleague managed such shit storms all by himself in so short amounts of time was beyond him. And who had to put things right? He had. Always.

The dark-haired teacher eyed his listless student and was torn between attempting to comfort her like the emotionally awkward being he was, or running after the blonde moron and making him hang upside down on a street lamp until he told him what had happened. Aizawa knew the other had to try and get information about the girl's past, but how had he reduced her to... well, that? And why the hell had he fled from her, leaving her in a mess? It made no sense at all.

The second option was tempting, really. He could picture the bony sack of dead braincells rock in the bleak light of a lamp hidden in a corner, begging for mercy. He wanted him to spill everything now and here, so that he had not to go into the infirmary and fish for clues from Philae. Then, he noticed she was crying again, and his temptation got snuffed out immediately.

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. The noise alerted her of his presence, but she did not look up from her hands. She was studying her white sheets like it had kicked her puppy.

 _What did she tell All Might, for him to freak out like that?_

Eraserhead sighed and sat down on the cooling chair next to the bed, and bent over to the young woman, not knowing what to say first. He did not need to engage, though.

"Please," Philae begged suddenly in a broken voice, "go away. You can't stay with me. I'll stain you."

He arched an eyebrow.

"Hah? Why is that?"

She sniffed.

"I'm a villain. You don't want to get near me."

Now that got his attention. As he recollected her doings, he did not find anything worth of of the word. That meant it came from her conversation with the blonde. Aizawa searched for reasons why she would consider herself a villain, and came with a list of crimes she could have committed. He began to eliminate them one by one quickly.

He scratched theft easily. It did not sound like her. She only worried about her brother, and he was apparently safe, cared for. She looked for someone with a helpful quirk, not something of value. There was no ground for theft.

Kidnapping, hostage-taking and terrorism were out of the picture too. Those kinds of villains did not even entertain the idea of becoming heroes, not remotely, and Philae's wish to become one was sincere, he was sure of it.

Lying, cheating, deception could be plausible options, as no one really knew her. Her past was a blank sheet for everyone – except All Might, but he had ran away and could not enlighten them right now –. Her intentions could be false, but then again, she could not have faked her dream-induced hallucination and panic attack. Recovery Girl confirmed it had been a real thing. Besides, the state the girl was in was to severe to pass as guilt for just deceiving people around her.

Shooting down crimes one after the other, Aizawa was left with one of the most serious ones. Murder. With a quirk as powerful as hers, taking a life was easy. Intentionally or not. Had she not released a dragon that had fired at the Noumu with a flame as large as an avenue? She had wanted to protect a child, but had someone been in the range of fire, they would have been turned to ashes without anyone being able to stop it.

It matched her current state. It also concurred with the way All Might had reacted, if he considered the blonde was a hero to the point the fool saw himself as a _symbol_ , more than a _living being_. It was no secret Toshinori saw the world from such a biased perspective, through the lens of his duty as a hero, that he often ignored his heart and well-being as a person. Sometimes, his emotions took the better of him and he thought he could save the entire planet if he dedicated fully to it, and sometimes, he could not look beyond the deed. The paradox might have cost him dearly here.

Thus, if Philae did kill, All Might must have first registered the crime and all it implied, before remembering he knew the criminal and wanted to help her, before he learned of it. From this point, knowing him, Aizawa was sure the blonde's mind had been utterly messed up. He must have considered his student as pure as Midoriya, but he had forgotten that Midoriya was a special, unique case. Reality had bitten him in the ass and he could not accept it like that, with his human heart at war with his hero mind. And now, All Might had ran away and Eraserhead was here trying to put all the pieces back together, alone.

If the dark-haired teacher was honest with himself, he had to admit he had seen Toshinori take a greater interest in Philae than he should have, and let him do it. She was interesting as a person, that much was sure, but the blonde took things to heart much too quickly, and he had undoubtedly developed a softer spot for her than usual. Maybe the mystery surrounding her, her fragility, the hardships she seemed to have endured, had drawn the retired hero to her like a junkie is to a new drug. All Might could no longer be a hero, and in Philae, he might have seen another way to feel heroic. Maybe Aizawa should have warned his colleague. But to his credit, his worries would have fallen in deaf ears.

At least he had a possible reason for Philae's grief, and he was set on verifying it, albeit tactfully. If he did not, he would take all the blame from Recovery Girl later, and he did not want to cover All Might for his mess-up this time, thank you.

The young woman had not moved while he had been thinking, completely lost in thoughts. He cleared his throat to get her attention, but she ignored him.

"Philae," he called, "I don't know what happened here before I came, but I have some clues and guesses. I won't question in depths, but I'd like to understand the situation before I decide on what to do. Do you hear me?"

She nodded, still not looking at him. He hummed.

"Right. So, I know I'll be harsh asking this, but I need to confirm. Do you call yourself a villain because you committed a crime?"

She took a sharp inhale of breath, and he knew he was on the right track.

"Did you kill?"

He did not sugar-coat it. Better to get over with it quickly and head on. Philae gasped and curled up on herself, as if trying to hide herself from him, and he needed no further confirmation. He had nailed it.

"Okay, I see now why the idiot left. Last thing I want to know, and then I'll stop: did you have a reason for it?"

She did not reply for a moment. Then, in a tiny muffle, she whined, "No matter, it's unforgivea..."

"I'm not asking if you think it is forgiveable or not," he cut her off, "I want to know if you had a reason for it. I need to know."

"I... I-I didn't think straight. I thought it was the only way... that we could only be free if..."

She trailed off and did not finish her sentence, but Aizawa understood more or less. He had had a brief account of her hallucinating fit, and the dots connected somewhat. She had committed murder in the past, and felt compelled to do so, he assumed. It must have been the way she went from the moment when she had been abused, to the moment when she was safe with her brother and stepfather, or something along the lines. He did not need the rest for now.

Aizawa sighed quietly, running a hand in his hair tiredly. Maybe it was better that he dealt with this himself, after all.

"I understand," he began again, tone flat but not as bored as it usually sounded, "but I refuse to accept this as ground for villainy."

When her eyes finally snapped up to him in surprise, he continued, "The world is not all black and white. There are villains, and there are heroes to counter them, but the line in-between is not as thin as you might think. Killing is a crime that villains commit, yes, but you're not necessarily a villain every time you take a life."

"I don't understand."

"What I'm trying to say is, villains who kill, often kill consciously and intently, even though they have other choices. For them, killing is the fastest, easiest, most impressive way, and they feel no remorse doing it. They feel they have to do it for whatever reasons they come up with, or for pleasure, depends. And they do it again. Or they commit other crimes. And heroes like us are here to stop them. But sometimes, heroes happen to kill too," he explained, his gaze unwavering. "In most cases, it is by accident, because citizens got caught up in their fights against villains, or because they did not arrive on time to save endangered lives, or sometimes even because the villain they were facing did not survive the wound they gave him. All can be called murder, in a way, and they are felt that way by the heroes that experience them. But all in all, what separates them from villains, for the same act of taking a life, is what they hold in their heart."

"But I killed intently," Philae murmured desperately, "I saw no other choice, I thought it was the only way, I just wanted to get free, to stop having to be a good girl and obey. I couldn't... It was too much."

"Yes," he nodded, "that's what I'm saying. You didn't do it because you saw it as an opportunity to make a point, or because you enjoyed it. You felt compelled to do it. You felt trapped. And you regret it, but what's done is done. You can't undo it. Honestly, as a hero, part of me tells me to bring justice to this. That's what I do, that's my duty, and I take it seriously. But I'm realistic enough not to judge you only on that ground. It sounds twisted, and I may be mistaken, but I'm still human, and as a human, I think I understand why you did what you did, and I don't want to blame you. You were a kid and you were suffering greatly. You still are, whatever the age written down under your name. Maybe I would have done the same in your place, I don't know and I don't care. You come from another world, with another past, and I can't judge that. I'm interested in now and here, and in that aspect, I see a promising young woman with potential. I see a human being with her doubts and regrets and hopes. And I saw a goof fleeing this because he forgets that sometimes he is just the same as everyone else."

Philae had no words for that. Aizawa was a gruff and a demanding teacher, but deep down, he had a rational mind and an unwilling side of a mother hen, it seemed. How was that she had found so wonderful people, when she was...

"Don't think you're worthless scum, brat," he interrupted her thoughts abruptly, "I know you want to, but believe me, it's no use. The best you can do is coming to terms with it, one way or another. Shit happens. It passes. You move on. End of story. It sounds impossible, but that's just how it goes. I know that much."

She watched him questioningly. Something was showing under the surface, and she felt like he meant something else than what he said. Had he experienced this for himself? He did not say, but a kind of understanding passed between them.

He did not judge, and he did not tell her she could not be a hero anymore. So why did All Might go away? She did not understand, and her heart wrenched. She felt terrible.

Aizawa huffed and stood up, and she followed his movements absently. As he went to the door, he addressed her one last time.

"Rest. Recovery Girl will soon come back, so don't do anything stupid in the meantime. I'll go find the idiot that's your teacher, and explain him a thing or two about adulthood. If you see black and white, he fares little better."

With that, he was off, and Philae remained there, puzzled. Her nervousness soon came back, but she tried to hide it as much as she could, and if the nurse noticed anything when she came back, she did not comment it.

 _Now, we wait._


	10. Chapter 9

**Summer is finished, and so I finally had time to write a long chapter of this fic :D**

 **Sorry for the wait, and I hope you'll enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9 – Baby steps**

Toshinori slammed the door a little more forcefully than he intended, but he could not control his actions at the moment. It shook on its hinges with a loud banging noise, stating clearly to everyone about a mile around that he wanted to be _alone_. He felt overwhelmed by the situation, and his careless reaction, albeit out of self-preservation, did not help. He slumped on the sofa of the small rest room next to his desk, and took his head in his hands miserably.

He wanted to stop thinking about what Philae had just revealed to him. He knew he had to stop thinking about it, if only to be able to be more detached and take a rational decision later. But he could not. How could he, when the information she had given him was so consequent? When he had been so useless and wrong in the way he took it all? When he felt he had messed up terribly?

Some time after, Aizawa showed up in the door frame, silently coming into the room and surveying him as though waiting the right moment to speak. The blonde spotted him, but did not talk to him. He did not want to talk to anyone, especially his all too perceptive colleague. He did not need to be scolded for his cowardice.

Unfortunately, Eraserhead was not ready to let him be.

"I'd never guess you'd be one to sulk in a corner," he deadpanned, "though I agree it's almost an occasion for such drama."

The blonde did not answer. It seemed the other knew at least part of the truth, and had come to his own conclusions. So he let him continue.

"I'll tell you more or less the same thing I told Philae. I can't judge you too much for this. I can see why you fled, even if I don't approve, and I intend to leave you alone soon enough. But just bear in mind that you cannot run forever. You can't expect others to always clean after you. You'll have to face her sooner than later, unless you come back on your word. And when you do, you'll have to find the right thing to say."

Toshinori's shoulders slumped even more. He knew this and he dreaded that moment.

"I managed a temporary fix, but what she needs is your acceptance. She doesn't hope for your forgiveness, she doesn't even dare hope you'll be willing to talk to her anymore, but she still needs you. You didn't see it, and I doubt she ever knows herself, but you're slowly taking more space into her life everyday, faster than her classmates could, and she looks up to you. Not like Midoriya does, but you get the point. You're the first who reached out to her, and she trusts you enough to take your hand and follow you wherever you want to lead her. Now the question is, will you take her all as she is, and give her a chance? Can you even?"

With that, Aizawa left Toshinori to ponder, although he was sure he could have bet money on the answer. He knew the blonde too well. However, he needed him to come to that alone. He had done his part of the job.

Toshinori made sense of what his colleague told him. Eraserhead's words rang true and had a soothing effect on his internal turmoil. His mind cleared a little eventually, and his thoughts became more logical, though part of him still needed time to digest everything. He leant down sighing, his long legs stretching completely and relaxing for the first time since he had stormed into the room.

Aizawa's questions swam around in his head, nagging faintly at him. Could he give Philae a chance? Theoretically, of course he could. Everyone deserved a second chance – except All for One, who had gone far beyond the point of redemption a long time ago. However, whether he would actually give it in time was another matter. He had faced many situations like this one, but indirectly, with the interference of telephones or television screens. Never had he been so close to someone in need of his support for something like this, and it felt even worse to think that the closeness he spoke about was with a girl he had known for a handful of days at most. That sounded pathetic.

A knock on the door startled him. Who could be wanting to see him, even after he so resoundingly expressed his wish for loneliness? He stared.

"All Might?," the voice of Midoriya came from the other side of the door.

Toshinori sighed. Of course it was young Midoriya. Only he could go search for him at all times, even the worst. How he guessed it was his mentor who had shut himself off in here was a mystery, though Eraserhead could have done something sneaky like that just to force him out. Knowing the teen would be worried forever if he kept quiet, the blonde called tiredly, "Come in."

Unruly green curls peeped in, soon followed by the tensed figure of One for All's heir. Izuku entered nervously, wringing his fingers. Frankly, he did not know if this was a good idea. He had run here on impulse when he heard All Might was upset, but could he help, or would his coming here make things worse?

Toshinori followed his train of thoughts and was quick to placate him.

"It's okay, my boy, you can talk freely. I'm sorry if I look... unlike myself, right now. But I'm always listening to you. So?"

"Uh, I... It's...," the poor boy stuttered, shuffling his feet, then, "Are you alright, All Might?"

It felt like it was not what Izuku wanted to ask, and the blonde smiled wryly. He hated this question, as he never knew how to reply to it without feeling like a liar.

"I'm... okay, I guess. Just needed some time for myself. I have a lot on my mind, lately."

That was not a lie, technically speaking. He felt guilty and stupid, but also calmer than before, and he would try to make up for everything hurtful he might have done today. The problem was when, and how he would do that. But his young apprentice did not need to know that piece of information.

"Oh. Well, okay then...," the younger hesitated, "er, I'm sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to tell you that... uh, that-"

"Go on," he prompted patiently, though he felt the slightest bit irritated at his apprentice's stuttering. He did want to have some time to himself, for once.

"It's not... It'snotyourfaultsodon'tblameyourself."

"What?"

"Uh, I mean, it's not your fault," Izuku repeated more slowly, "so don't blame yourself for what happened."

"Hold on," Toshinori was puzzled now, "what are you talking about?"

"Oh? Uh, well, everyone heard about Phi's accident with her Quirk. Professor Aizawa told us what happened in class – he gave no details, just the main events. I promise I told nothing more than he did, and neither did Kacchan. We were so worried, and Recovery Girl didn't let us visit, but she told us you were with her. I thought you felt responsible and..."

"Oh, I see. Don't worry, it's not because of this. Well, not anymore, at least."

"Oh." Izuku let out a brief sigh of relief, before he fully understood what he had just been told and his face scrunched up in worry again. "So what... uh, no, it's none of my business, sorry. But if I can do something, anything, to help..."

"It's generous of you to offer, my boy, but don't worry. It has nothing to do with you. It's me."

"You always think it's you," the teen suddenly said with a spurt of boldness he surprised himself with – seeing his favourite hero blaming himself seemed to have triggered his overbearing caring attitude. "I'm sure it's not. You always want to carry the weigh of the world on your own shoulders, All Might. You hurt yourself when you try to. Don't blame yourself when you can't. Please, don't blame yourself. I'm sure whatever you feel guilty for will get better eventually. You always make things better!"

Toshinori wanted to laugh bitterly. So much faith should be forbidden. It could not be healthy. The teen did not know the full story, and yet he tried to console him at best he could. What deity blessed him so, to have such a treasure boy as his heir?

He wanted to tell him, but he knew he could not. He would not. It was Philae's choice to tell her story, not his, and he would keep her secret until then. This was indeed his burden alone to carry. Nevertheless, he needed to change the subject a bit.

"You shouldn't be worrying over old me, my boy. I'm okay. I'm more worried about young Philae's condition, and to be honest, I fear she might resent me for my carelessness."

He tried his best to tell as much truth as possible. That way, he did not feel embarrassed to hide things from Midoriya, and he could pour the tiniest bit of his concerns into the conversation. The teen was sharp and caught up immediately with what he meant.

"You're not old, All Might. And I'm sure she wouldn't. She's nice, and she likes you. She would never resent you."

The blonde's eyes widened slightly. Izuku wondered why for a second, then he got the double meaning of his sentence and turned bright red.

"Uh, no, uh, I mean, she likes you as a teacher and a person. She doesn't like you like, _like_ you! Like everyone in our class, she just, er-"

"Likes me, I get it," he cracked a sincere smile, this time, amused by his student's antics. He was really surprised to be the only one not to see Philae really appreciated his company. He thought she only saw him as an old bone bag with some usefulness, and maybe someone trustful enough to confide to. Which reinforced his wish to make up to her.

"Thanks for telling me this, my boy, but I fear it's more complicated than this. I'm sorry I cannot tell you."

"I understand," Izuku replied softly, "I gathered as much. Nevertheless, I think you see a bigger problem than there is. I-I won't ask what's the matter with Phi, but I believe she would greatly prefer forgiving you, rather than alienating you forever. She... she's not that kind of girl."

Toshinori hummed, sighing.

"I believe you. You're a lot sharper than I here. But I yet have to find a means to make amends."

The pair remained silent for a moment, thinking. Then, Izuku got an idea and looked up.

"Why not take her out to a café? Or a park?"

"Out?"

"Yeah, you could take her somewhere nice, away from the school. I don't know if the... problem, is because of something related to your being a teacher and training her as such, or to you as a person, but a change of scenery could only do good," he explained hastily. "Plus, if she accepts your invitation, it'll be a first sign that she's willing to hear you out. If she doesn't, which I doubt, you'll figure out something else in due time."

The retired hero thought about it. It was a simple, but good idea, in fact. In a more relaxed atmosphere, it would be easier to open dialogue and talk freely, without any fellow student or teacher around to hear them. He would gladly welcome the change himself, as he felt more and more cramped at U.A., where he could do nothing but mope around while the others did their heroic jobs.

Where to go, though? As All Might, he had had very little time to go out and enjoy a nice meal or evening out, apart from the occasional beer drinking at a bar with Tsukauchi. He could hardly remember the last time he had eaten cake in a café in town, much less watched a film in a cinema or been anywhere with a member of the other sex. What kind of things did Philae like, anyway? Did she prefer cream-puffs served on pink plates, or trendy mocha lattes with a rock background music?

 _Am I able to do this?_ , he wondered. _I've no idea what young people like these days. Maybe it'd be overestimating myself to try this._

He looked at Izuku, who offered him a smile.

 _Maybe..._

"Say, my boy," he began, "where would you recommend, personally?"

"Uh, me? Er, well, it depends on your and Phi's tastes," he mumbled, suddenly deep in thoughts, "somewhere close to the school would be preferable, but at the same time not too crowded. Mmmmh, if you like cake, there's a tea house down-town where they make very good pastries, my Mum goes there very often with her friends. Yeah, she told me they select top quality tea leaves and brew the traditional way. If you want something more western, American-like, maybe the coffee shop next to my neighbourhood is the best choice? I like their shakes, and they have a daily selection of dishes and cakes. Or I think there's a karaoke two streets down, or the cinema complex could have..."

"Slow down, Midoriya," Toshinori interrupted, mildly amused, "I think that's enough already. What would Philae prefer, in your opinion?"

"Errrr... I don't know, exactly. We haven't had the time to do much together since she arrived," Izuku apologetically answered, "but I may have a way!"

"You truly are an angel, my boy."

"N-not at all!," he flushed. "O-oh, it's time already! I have to go."

The elder glanced at the clock and nodded.

"Indeed. Nighteye demands punctuality. Off you go, then."

He waved his disciple off, and Izuku quickly stood up and left, promising he would tell him how it went. The blonde prayed for him to get his placement at Nighteye's agency. The man was a tough boss, he heard. And he did not approve the retired hero's choice of heir for One for All. Oh, well. He would know soon enough.

Toshinori stood up himself, stretched awkwardly, and went to the door. He had nothing to do, this week. He would make a list of places and visit them to narrow down the choices. And he had to change his training programme. And he had to think of a way to apologise.

His spirits lifted a little. A hero always found his way out of a pinch.

* * *

 _Two days later_

Philae spent long hours sleeping on pills and worries. No one was allowed to visit her, except Professor Aizawa, who took time to check on her state of mind and reiterated his comforting words – or at least she thought they were comforting, in his grumpy intone of voice –.

No sign of All Might. It was as if he had disappeared from existence, as neither Recovery Girl or Aizawa spoke of him. Izuku was not around to marvel about his idol, and she dared not ask about him. He had asked for time to think, so it was only natural he did not come for a while.

It did not prevent her from hurting at the thought that this was because of her.

On the third day after her 'incident', as she put it, the nurse decided she could go. Thanks to a mindful use of the healing Quirk, and a good deal of rest, her body was alright. Her mind was another matter, but it would not help to remain in the infirmary. She had had enough time to gather her courage and go back to the others, anyway. They did not know what happened after the accident with her Quirk, and both Izuku and Bakugou had promised the teachers they would not tell a soul. She felt uncomfortable with hiding them the truth, but she also felt relieved to be given the time she needed to tell them.

Because she would tell them eventually, if they proved to be the friends she thought they could become to her. She hated lying, especially about herself. Only time would tell, though. So for now, she had to focus on going back to her class and integrating it.

She went to her dorms and got greeted in the common living room by a loud gasp and happy barking. The next moment, she got squeezed in a tight embrace, and a wet muzzle rubbed against her leg.

"Oh my God, you're really out! We were so worried!"

Ochako released her shortly to watch her, face split in half with the hugest smile she had ever seen. The gravity girl could not hide her glee as she bounced to the sofa, where Momo was sipping on a tall glass of water and had stopped to wave at her smiling. Tsuyu came to Philae much more calmly, never losing her cool, but with relief painted all over her face.

"We were informed you'd be allowed to go today, but we didn't expect you so soon, ribbit. We're pleasantly surprised."

Mina, who was putting snacks haphazardly in a bowl, came to them and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, that way we can begin sooner! Yay!"

Although she felt elated by the warm greeting, Philae found herself confused.

"Begin what?," she asked puzzled.

Mina gasped and hid her mouth with her free hand.

"Oh, oops."

"Mina! It was supposed to be a surprise."

"He he, sorry."

"We wanted to have a sleepover," Tsuyu helpfully explained, "to celebrate your being better and out, ribbit ribbit. Just the five of us, among girls. The others were busy or did not want to participate."

"Boys are jerks," Mina interjected petulantly, "and the others don't know what they miss."

"Sleepover?"

"Yeah, you don't like it?," Ochako suddenly worried, "We can leave you in peace, if you..."

"Oh, no! That's alright," Philae quickly countered, "I'm just... I'm touched, actually. I've not been around that long."

"That's why a sleepover is compulsory!," the gravity girl supported. "It's the ideal way to get to know each other even better."

"Without everyone grouping up around you," Momo added.

"And without silly boys to spoil the party!," Mina finished. "They're nice and all, but they are as tactful as a herd of elephants."

"So you're a boy," Tsuyu playfully concluded, which earned her an outraged gasp.

"Am not!"

Philae chuckled. Those girls were easy to go around, and she was glad to know them.

She slipped away just so that she could get into her pyjamas, then the small group sat down on a sea of cushions in front of a large television screen. Bowls of snacks and bottles of soft drinks where gathered in a corner, Anubis curled up against Philae, and the other girls began bickering about the film they would be watching that evening.

"A romance is best for girls' nights!," Mina exclaimed loudly.

"An action movie has more positive energy!," Ochako argued.

"No need to get all hyped up by fights and explosions," Momo countered easily, "though I'm not against a good romance once in a while."

"See," the alien girl proudly said to her friend, "Momo agrees with me."

"But I love action movies," the other pouted slightly, "they convey so many good vibes and encourage our fighting spirit."

"Maybe we could keep the action movie when the boys are around," Tsuyu suggested, "so that everyone can agree on a film that's not too girly for them."

"Why not an adventure movie?," Momo offered, "not too much fluff, a good plot with mysteries, suspense, and of course a bit of action."

"If you know one with a cute couple, I'm in."

"Me too."

"What about you, Phi?"

Philae nodded eagerly.

"Fine by me."

"So that's settled."

The movie was, in fact, not bad at all. The main actor was quite attractive and self-assured, even if he could be a real airhead worth a good slap in the face. The girls watched it while exchanging snacks and drinks, and once the credits rolled down, the group chatted away about all kinds of subjects.

Momo liked to share her recent readings. Ochako visited all the gyms available on campus, and could not resist going to the small restaurant around the corner – "The best rice cakes in town!," she exclaimed. Tsuyu just liked to chill and browse the web for good news and series. As for Mina...

"So!," she interrupted gleefully. "Since we're only amongst girls, why don't we talk about the best subject ever?"

"Which is?," Momo raised an eyebrow.

"Boys, of course!"

The others stared. Tsuyu replied evenly, "I thought you said boys were silly, ribbit?"

"They still are, but it doesn't mean we can't be interested in them," the alien girl countered smiling. "Say, Tsuyu, anyone you fancy?"

"Not yet, ribbit. I don't think I'm ready for this right now."

"Pah, not funny," Mina grumbled. "What about you, Uraraka?"

At that, Ochako turned bright red and gasped. All eyes were suddenly on her.

"Oho, looks like someone caught your eyes ~," Momo teased her. "Would you like to tell us more about him?"

"Ah, er... I... uh...," the poor girl blabbered.

"Is it Bakugou?," Mina suggested. "He's always insulting everyone, but you're around him and Deku a lot, so maybe you found something in him that we don't see."

"A-absolutely not!," she flushed.

"Maybe it's Izuku, ribbit, although I think it's Ochako's choice whether she wants to confirm or not."

"I-I-I, I don't..."

"Relax, Uraraka," Philae flew to her rescue, smiling, "I don't think you should answer if you don't want to. Izuku is nice, but he's so shy it's almost pathological at this point. And who would like to bear with Bakugou as a boyfriend, really?"

"His looks are not bad, ribbit," Tsuyu pondered, "though his bad mouth takes out all the credits he gets with them."

"Maybe if he schooled himself...," Momo tried.

"And if he stopped sending nasty glares each time someone goes into a ten-meter radius from around him," Philae finished, "he'd be decent, yes. I get the point, but still. I still have goosebumps from the last time he stalked me in the corridor."

"Next time he does," Ochako offered frowning, "I'll give him a good whack. He's being ridiculous."

"I agree. Speaking of you, what about you, Phi?," Mina went on. "What's your kind of guy?"

Good question. Philae liked to think she did not have any. Men in general were a hassle, or at least those in Orion's company were. Always dissecting her or flirting thoughtlessly, although they avoided doing it too obviously in front of her stepfather, for they were assured to get an express flight from the roof with a good kick of his if he ever caught them.

In any case, she mostly ignored men she did not have connections to. It was not that she did not look at attractive people on the street, or that she was traumatised by the Doctor's treatment so as not to approach men, but... well, it just never occurred to her that she could attract them, or be attracted to them.

Nevertheless, her general lack of interest on the matter did not deter Orion's blue-eyed protégé, Ryuushin Ame, who shadowed her every single time they were together in the same room. The man was handsome and frightening at the same time, with his icy glares and sharp tongue. His fashion was strange, too, for he dressed mostly in long-sleeved black and white shirts and trousers and boots, even in summer, and he chose them fitting enoug to hug his lanky figure while hiding it. Maybe he had scars under them.

He was a genius in evertyhing related to electronics, physics and astrophysics, and his management skills had been proved a long time ago, but his brilliant mind could not help his atrophied sensitivity. A wall could have been warmer. He did not talk to her much, but he was always there, watchful, careful. Her stepfather let him, arguing he was at least a good repellent of any male threat to Philae, and he never went very far in his attentions. He courted her in a most unorthodox way, if it could be called courting at all.

When he did talk, it was to talk business or to try and befriend her, or so she guessed. He was apparently as socially awkward as a boy raised by a pack of wolves, and even if he could be nice, in his own personal way, he was foreign to the concept of relationships between men and women. Last time he attempted at reaching out to her, he ended threatening a poor waiter to have his entire family sacked on the spot for having spilled a few drops of tea on Philae's shirt. So much for friendliness.

Her money was on his wish to marry her in order to get the company, then dump her once she was not useful to him anymore. Kai had bet on his seeing her as his only chance to get a girl at all, since he was so sensitive to those things that any other would have run away screaming bloody murder. Or maybe he was interested in what secrets she could hide from him. Ryuushin spent so much time at Crawford Hall, and he was so intuitive sometimes, that he must have felt there was something about them...

"Hello? Earth to Phi?," Ochako's voice snapped her out of her memories.

"Sorry, what?"

"You spaced out," Momo provided, "we were worried you got lost into a fantasy."

"Oh." She blushed. "No, it's fine. I was just thinking."

"Right." Mina looked unconvinced. "So? What's your kind of guys? Must be handsome, for you to drool like that."

"I'm not drooling," she protested, "and I don't have any. Not that I know, anyway."

"I don't either, ribbit. I don't really care about appearance."

"Aww, no fun at all, girls. Too bad for you. Personally, I like them self-confident and adventurous! And if they are dark-haired, it's even better!"

"Why dark-haired?"

"Dunno, I like it like that!"

"Mh."

"If you go that way," Philae said, "I guess I like tall men. It's silly, but my brother's taller than I, and so are all men I'm feeling safest around. So, I think I'd like a tall boyfriend."

"Muscled, too?"

"Uh, no. I mean, I don't care, but I won't look for a buffed up guy just because I want muscles. He could be thin, and still charm me. It's a question of character."

"Thin like, Professor Aizawa thin, or thin like, All Might thin, ribbit?," Tsuyu asked curiously. "Because I think there is a slight difference. Much like a reed and a twig. Not that I criticize or judge."

Philae thought about the former hero, and felt a pang in her chest at the memories of what had happened a few days before. She wanted to know if he was okay, but could not ask out of the blue. Maybe the girls thought he was still talking to her.

She shook the hurt from her mind and concentrated on the man himself. He was, indeed, all bones. How tall was he, too? Not far from two meters, maybe, which was quite impressive for someone so frail. But his looks aside, he had strength in him, and a golden heart. He was trustworthy, dedicated, faithful, and so hero-like.

Philae smiled despite her guilt and self-depreciatory thoughts. She would not mind a man like him, not at all. She could trust him. Lean on him whenever she needed. Much like her brother, yet in another way. But she could not hope to find someone like him, not after what she had done. Mina huffed loudly and interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Tsuyu, they are adults! They're far too old, and I don't want to think about them _that_ way!"

"I, too, would prefer we don't talk about this, specifically," Momo stopped them, not liking where the conversation was going, "it's disrespectful of our teachers."

So they broached a safer subject. Philae, however, could not chase her scrawny teacher away from her mind. Curiously, she was mildly worried to imagine that he would actually turn his back to her. It bothered her not to know.

It bothered her so much, that she still thought about it when they eventually called it a night and went to their rooms. She found it hard to fall asleep.

* * *

 _The next day_

Philae wished her classmates good luck, as they went to the agencies they had internships in. Everyone had found one, even Izuku, who could not stop talking about the amazing tutor he had managed to convince to take him. If All Might was, in his eyes, a God in flesh, then Nighteye was His apostle. In other words, the boy was overjoyed.

As for her, Philae found herself alone with Anubis. She did not mind too much. A little, but not too much. She just hoped the teachers would find something for her to do soon. In the meantime, she decided she would run laps and stretch. She did not want to use her Quirk again just yet, but exercising her body back to health sounded good. And she needed to spend some time out in the sun.

She ran peacefully, her furry friend galloping around her and chasing birds. Around half her third lap, Anubis suddenly sprinted forward, and she noticed a form in the distance. Someone else was running in front of her, at a much slower pace, and she got intrigued. She sped up a notch to catch up with them.

To her surprise, it was All Might, puffing and wheezing and red as a tomato. He was sweating and looked ready to spit blood any second. Worried, but also somewhat pleased to see him, Philae moved slightly to offer her help.

She could not utter a word, though. The former hero riveted her with a sharp gaze, one which had her stop her course on the spot, and he stopped right next to her. Anubis greeted him, but he got ignored, and eventually sat next to his mistress. The blonde was so focused on his student that he did not even notice the dog's presence near him. He faced her completely and caught his breath with some difficulty, but his gaze remained unwavering. Mesmerising. Philae was transfixed by their intensity.

When he was better, All Might raised a hand tentatively and said, "Hi. I was hoping to see you here."

 _Huh? Me...? Oh. Of course, me. Who else do you see around campus, silly._

The fact that he had sought for her made her happy, but also very, very uncomfortable. Was he going to tell her he was finished with her? That she had disappointed him?

Seeing her hesitation, Toshinori gathered his own courage and spoke up.

"I thought a lot, and I think I'd like to talk to you, somewhere else than here. I... er, I'd like to get some fresh air, and I thought you'd like it, too. You can't go outside without supervision, not when you're still recovering, and I'm available, and there are things we have to discuss, so... I mean, if you want, that is."

He slapped himself mentally for his awkwardness. He was terrible at this. He was lucky enough not to blush scarlet, thanks to his conditioning a long moment before he set foot on the running track, but still. He had not tried to invite a woman out for, like, ten decades? He could not remember. He did know, however, that he was totally helpless.

"So, uh, I thought about a café, or something like that, to get some fresh air and, well, talk?," he finished lamely.

Philae did not know how to respond to that. Her brain failed to register that 1) All Might was talking to her; 2) All Might wanted to discuss things with her, without being mad at her and getting rid of her on the spot; 3) All Might wanted to ask her out – in a platonic way –.

She could not help it. Her cheeks burnt with fifty shades of embarrassment and joy and relief. All at the same time.

"I... yes, okay," she managed to get out.

Toshinori stopped his internal rant to make sure he had heard correctly. Yes? Simple as that?

"Yes?"

Philae forced herself to snap out of her stupor, and nodded more firmly, a small, tentative smile on her lips.

"Yes."


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello all!**

 **Here's the new chapter :) As you might have noticed, I'm slowly developing my plot away from the canon plot, but I'll try to keep as many canon elements as possible.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10 – Believe in your strength**

According to Izuku, Philae preferred simple, easy-going atmospheres, and her adoptive father was American. So, it was not difficult for Toshinori to choose the small American-inspired coffee shop, and he discovered he was glad he did. The place was furnished with taste and imported vintage pieces, and the menu featured a selection of his own favourites. Even the smells he caught when entering, felt familiar and comforting. Nostalgia seized him when they stepped into the shop, reminding him of the time when he lived in the US and found his hero persona. Those were happy times.

A brief glance at his student confirmed his choice. Philae had the contented look of someone who found something resembling home. She was smiling softly, her gaze embraced the room with sparks of recognition and joy, and her whole body expressed relaxation. It was as if she entered known territory. It reassured him to see he had been right. Maybe things were going to be easier than he thought.

Philae was amazed. It had felt an eternity since she had last seen her country of adoption, which had – more or less – welcomed her as Orion's official heiress. There had been detractors, of course, and they had lashed out at them publicly for long, but overall her settling in the US had been an actual liberation. Never had she felt so free, except in her earliest years, which she remembered too little to compare. With time, the sceptics had morphed into courters, and the enemies had turned into followers and obsessive mystery busters, but her first impression of the starred nation remained the same.

So, going in this little corner of America in Japan was elating. She was delighted to be given the chance to talk to All Might, and the feeling got amplified by the pure joy she felt now. She hoped she was not dreaming, this time.

The pair went further into the shop and got greeted by a plump, spruce lady in her mid-twenties, talking Japanese with a western accent. It appeared she was actually born American, and both Philae and Toshi decided her place was to be a must-go if the food proved as excellent as the decoration and owner.

They got seated in comfy leather seats, in the farthest corner, hidden from the other customers for more privacy. They spent some time choosing their dishes and drinks, and only when they got served – a Devil's Food Cake and strawberry shake for Philae, and a Scotcheroo and Dr Pepper can for Toshi –, did they decide they could talk.

Who was going to talk first, though.

With a burst of courage, the blonde spoke up first.

"So... Er."

 _Stay calm. Composed. Adult._ He repeated those three things in his head like a mantra, to give him courage. _Begin with something light and easy._

"I hope this is to your liking," he declared at last, slapping himself mentally in the face for such a bland excuse at conversation. _Thanks, Captain Obvious._

"It's perfect," she answered smiling, taking a bite of her pastry, "it's been ages since I've come to one of those. It's awesome you found one around campus. Thank you for inviting me."

The taste of dark chocolate invaded her mouth, and her taste buds sent shudders of pleasure to her brain. She loved chocolate. Her small sigh of bliss made Toshinori smile.

"Think nothing of it, I'm glad you're pleased. I get it you're quite busy in your world?"

He wondered if the young woman had had any normal scholar instruction since she got adopted.

"Mh-mh. You could say that. My stepfather owns a multinational entertainment company. Orion Inc. designs video games, board games, amusement parks, all kinds of festivals around the world... They're almost everywhere in the entertainment industry, and I'm expected to inherit this empire one day. Well, technically, it should be my brother, but now that he's... well, he's unaivalable for taking the job right now. Anyway, I've raised as his heiress too, and it got officially announced last year or so. So, I have to get a hold of how things work, and the like. You know, just in case."

Just i _n case Kai doesn't make it in time to inherit._ She did not say it, but the sentence hung heavy above them. Toshinori tried to change the subject.

"Orion Crawford, is it? What kind of man is he?"

He had noticed Philae talked quite freely about her adoptive father, and figured it would be a safe topic. Besides, he was curious to get details about the man who had adopted not only one, but two magical children, right out of a hellish laboratory. Such a character deserved attention.

His student chuckled lightly, and her amusement kindled his own.

"He's the very definition of eccentric, you might say. Nothing's too tall or expensive for him. He can buy whatever he likes, and he buys everything he fancies. One day, I came home at Crawford Hall, and I was met with a full-body sculpture of Hermes in the living room, next to the fire mantel. Uncensored, if you get my drift. Orion was drinking his tea with Ryuushin, his apprentice, just next to it, at the same level of... you know."

He did, and laughed.

"Quite a view, indeed."

"You tell me. Ryuushin, so uptight and stoic, was livid. I don't remember laughing that hard since then. Originally, Crawford Hall is a mansion with a strong influence of Art Nouveau. So, an antique statue suddenly standing on the rug between to Parisian Mucha paintings..."

"I don't know what Mucha is, but I can imagine it would have been like having a Medieval knight playing baseball with an alien."

"Yeah, and it's only the beginning of it. Orion is the biggest cartoon fan ever. His office is a mini temple dedicated to his cartoon heroes. He spends hours in there. I think his most precious possession is a first edition of the painted Tweedy Bunny figurine. Must cost around ten thousand dollars."

"So he's a child in adult skin, maybe?"

Mr Crawford did sound rather... peculiar. Toshinori concluded it was thanks of the man's odd way of life, that Philae and her brother had found a home with him. At least, he seemed the kind to welcome magic as a mere detail of his environment, which was an advantage here.

Philae's smile got a tad bit sadder.

"He seems childish, but actually, he's a very clever man. He built his empire all by himself, and I must say his Board of Executives respects and listens to his pieces of advice almost religiously, it's scary at times. He knows episodes of flourish nonsense, and episodes of complete calm and seriousness. The doctors told me he's been acting like this since the day he lost his wife, Lady Camelia."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

The blonde felt silly. He should not have laughed about this man. Losing a loved one was terrible. Phi shook her head.

"That's alright. She passed away before Kai and I got adopted. I heard she was of fragile health, and one day she was bedridden with a fever when a fire declared in the mansion. The kitchen staff on the ground floor managed to escape, and so did the house staff working in the east aisle, but she was trapped in the west aisle, on the first floor. Those who wanted to get to her could not because of the smoke, and help did not arrive in time. Orion learned about the accident as he was on a business trip in Canada. He was devastated for months. And when he recovered enough to get back to his company, he had become like that. Two years later, he found us and adopted us."

"Oh. Do you think he's still suffering...?"

"No, I don't think. I'm _sure_ he is. But what could I do? You can't forget your soulmate, and I think Lady Camelia was that to him. He's functioning, but his heart will never heal completely. At least, I think he found some coping solution with us. He's been transferring part of his affection to us. We've been welcomed, spoilt, and taken care for. He's been giving us everything he could, even if he couldn't love us fully. It doesn't really matter, in the end. We're here thanks to him, and we'll be grateful until the day we die."

Toshinori could understand that. He smiled.

"I'm glad he has."

He had many other questions, but one in particular needed to be expressed.

"Do you like it here?," he wanted to know. "I don't want to make you homesick, but I'd like to know if you're comfortable in our world."

It was also a disguised means to ask if Philae intended to stay. Curiously, the idea of her leaving bothered him way too much. He expected her to go, in order to heal her brother, but he implicitly considered she would come back. She wanted to be a hero, and she would be one if she worked hard enough. There was no doubting it. She was made for the job. If only for her past, she would have made the perfect heroic profile.

She riveted her gaze on him and answered with a firm voice, full of emotions she was obviously doing her best to keep under control.

"I do. I met a lot of amazing people, and they welcomed me so easily I'm confused at times. They don't even _know_ me, and yet here they are, accepting me. Not all of them, naturally, but still. It's almost like when I moved to America with Kai, if not better. I'm almost embarrassed by all the kindness you all showed towards me. All the more so, since I'm certain I don't deserve it."

"Of course you do," Toshinori countered with a frown. "Never say otherwise."

"Why? It's true. You're too kind, All Might."

"I'm not."

"Of course you are."

She was stubborn, when she wanted to be. He had to give her that. Unwilling to argue over his kindness, he shook his head.

"I can't accept your saying you don't deserve kindness. I won't concede anything of the sort. Do you understand?"

He sounded serious, and Philae deflated. She nodded sheepishly, and he hummed satisfyingly.

"Okay. Good." He softened instantly. "In any case, I'm glad you're fine here."

"Yeah, me too." She smiled again. "If I were allowed, I'd gladly stay. Maybe after Kai is healed and takes back his position in Orion's company, I'd be able to come back here for a longer amount of time. Maybe he'd come with me. I'd have to think about it. Running a multinational is not so bad, but it's more his thing than mine. I prefer action, not burying myself in paperwork and stiff dresses, even if I'm said to be good at it."

"Id be happy if you did. Though I think your brother would highly prefer to have you near."

"And I him. But he would be happy to see I can use my magic here, without hiding myself or being afraid. And I'd love it if he could come, too. It has to be discussed. I really don't know, but I can hope."

So could he, and he found he did. Truly. Her confirming she would like to live here satisfied him, as if it were in the natural order of things. The contrary could not be imagined.

They fell back to comfortable silence, eating and drinking, listening to the background music played on a vintage jukebox. It was an old group from the eighties, with synth and electric guitar. It was pleasant.

Eventually, Toshinori decided he had to broach the most sensible subject. He cleared his throat, and Philae immediately caught the change in behaviour, tensing slightly in anticipation, suddenly finding her half-empty glass of shake very interesting.

"Philae, I..." He took in a deep breath. "I'm really, utterly, miserably sorry for my poor reaction last time I was with you. I was an insensitive git, when you trusted me and needed me most. My behaviour is unforgivable. I ought to-"

"Stop."

Philae had cut her teacher off with more force than she thought, but hearing him apologising to _her_ , felt unbearable. She could not hear it all.

"It's not your fault, All Might," she murmured, looking intently at her drink, "I don't deserve any of those words right now."

Toshinori felt sad, but did not get deterred.

"Nonsense, girl. I didn't think rationally and I fled like a spineless coward. I'm better than this, and so are you. As a teacher, my duty is to make sure that you develop into a fine hero, and I didn't lie when I said you had all it got to be one. I still believe in that, even if my heart is torn and my sense of justice is painfully tingling."

She stared down, not responding. The former hero sighed and continued.

"Listen. I know that no words will erase what happened, and that your guilt is legitimate. In all honesty, I'd be more worried that you didn't feel any at all. But even though the hero in me still wants to handcuff you and send you to the nearest police station, the man in me finds excuses to..."

He stopped. Excuses would mean like hypocritically saying he understood and accepted the thing completely, while in reality he did not. Bad choice of words.

"Wait, no, that's sounding wrong. What I'm saying is, when rationalising everything, I can understand your reasons behind what you did. I can imagine what it must have been for the child you were at the time, and I'd be lying again if I said I didn't feel the strongest anger when I heard your story. We're only human, and I'm aware humans make mistakes."

He paused for a second, drinking from his can to deliver the last piece of his mind. He had to express his thoughts clearly.

"I can't say I accept what you did just now. I'll need time to digest and settle my mind on it. But I don't want to consider you a villain, nor do I want to give up on you and your potential. What you did in the face of danger, protecting a child from a Noumu, not everyone would have done that. Not everyone, and especially not a villain, would have put themselves at risk for a stranger. I believe in your redemption... in your heroic future. And I still want to take part in it, even if... well, even if I'll certainly be awkward for the next couple of days. I have yet to figure out how to act naturally again, because I'm stupid like that, but that's a problem I must face alone."

"All Might..."

"I know I'm asking for a lot, here. I'm getting emotional over this, and you must have heard from Aizawa that I see the world in black and white. That's not totally untrue, but well-"

"All Might!"

Startled by her outburst, Toshinori fell silent, mouth half hanging open. He closed it tightly shut, staring at Philae. She raised her eyes and looked at something around his neck area, but still did not dare go up to meet his gaze.

"All Might...," she repeated in a much lower tone, "don't say things like that. You're too honest, and you don't give yourself enough credit. I know you're giving me a chance, here, and I'm already grateful you don't spit in my face. I expected the latter. I deserved no more. And yet, you're saying those things, you're talking about understanding... This is too much. You're giving too much, and I can't..."

"Philae," he placated calmly, joining his hands around his can to steady himself, "don't worry about me. Understanding my students is my job, in a way. I have to admit our... let's say our school-teacher relation, has a more personal aspect than with some others, since you trust me with a past I know you would rather forget about and leave behind. If I have difficulties separating my private life from my... former heroic life, and now my professional life as a teacher, that's my problem and mine alone. However, what you must retain from this, is that I won't abandon you because of your telling me about those past actions. Do you hear me?"

She nodded numbly, picking at her cake, but she said nothing. Sighing, Toshi gathered his most commanding, but softest voice.

"Look at me, please."

Philae gulped with dread, but complied. Slowly, her veiled chestnut eyes levelled to his blue ones, and he could finally dive into them and see her troubled mind. He could not miss her fear of rejection, her need to hear him say everything he had to, to hear the truth he held and at the same time some kind of comforting words. She did not want to hope, and yet she could not help it. Did she like him and trust him so, that he had become so important so quickly?

Maybe that was a sort of unconscious affection stemming from her separation from all her loved ones. The blonde tended to be very considerate and overprotective, and maybe this was the behaviour she involuntarily, desperately searched in people. Maybe she had been so frightened by her attempt at protecting her brother as a child, that she punished herself by relying on others to protect herself?

…

His thoughts made no sense at all.

Taking in a small breath, he blinked and broke the charm he had cast on himself watching her.

"You were honest with me, and you hid no secret when you told me what you did. I respect that immensely, and I admire your courage for exposing yourself so, because you trust me. That's why I'm being equally honest. So here's exactly what I thought, what I think."

 _Time to dive, old boy_ , he thought briefly, before he told it all at once.

"I was horrified, and technically, I still am to some extent. Some things are never to be taken lightly, especially not those. Yet, right now, I'm more admiring and impressed than anything else. Correct me if I make too bold assumptions, but I think you were terrified, lost, and desperate for change. Anyone in your situation would have snapped, cracked, or lost it long before you did. You resisted as long as you could, and for that, you were very strong. You're even stronger now, and you're not a frightened little girl anymore. You've grown to a strong woman, who wants to take her fate into her own hands, in the right way. You did this not for sick reasons, but as a sort of protection, in the twisted vision of a beaten child. You're responsible, and yet you were not entirely."

He saw her eyes wet, but he could not bring himself to wipe them off. She had to shed those tears. She had to get rid of her anguish and sadness. Even if he hated the sight of her like this.

"And now," he went on, "you still do things for others. You travelled to our world, alone, for your brother. You risked your life protecting a child you knew nothing about, because you felt it was the right thing to do. You're training to become a hero, and you nearly died for it, because you wish to help and protect people. Or maybe it's because you fell guilty...?"

Philae hesitated, but she eventually shook her head. No, it had not really occurred to her that she would become a hero to redeem herself. Maybe it had been unconscious, but she just... wanted to. It was the best use of her powers she could choose. It was... yes, as All Might put it, it was the right thing to do. The best thing to do. She would be useful, and she would fight for justice. With finding a cure for Kai, she wished for nothing more.

"You see. You're on the path to becoming a great woman. I'll always respect your dedication. And even though I'm craving for justice, incapable of controlling my overbearing, perfectionist, utopian side, I'm still a man of sentiment."

The blonde showed one of his warm smiles. The smiles she liked. The smiles that sent waves of peace and happiness through her. With the most intense gaze she had seen him have, All Might concluded.

"As a hero, I _will_ have difficulties accepting what you did. But as a man, I deeply regret these difficulties in advance, because I respect you even more now, for everything you've been doing since the day we met. So let me make an oath to you: I'll never judge you on your past. As you trusted me, I'll trust you and reach your expectations. I'll become the tutor you need to reach your goals. I'm finished with cowardice. I'll be here for you. Always. I can do that, and I shall. Do you agree?"

Philae put a hand on her mouth and swallowed back her sobs. She did not want to alarm the shop owner. However, she could not stop her heart from pounding so hard that she thought it might explode in her chest.

Could she believe it? Was it a dream? She did not know. Her teacher was too kind-hearted. Too heroic. Too perfect to be real. He was offering his help again. He was repeating his kind words and encouragements. She could not have found someone so angelic in her life.

She managed to calm down a few seconds later, and nodded slowly. She was silenced, scared that speaking would make the dream fall apart. All Might nodded back and fished for a clean handkerchief in his pocket, offering the pristine white square of cloth for her to use. She only just noticed some tears had found their way down her cheeks.

She accepted it timidly. Before she could thank him, however, she caught a sudden change of expression on his face. She blinked and was about to ask, but the blonde sprang and was by her side in an instant, his features a mix of alarm and urgency.

"Watch out!"

His tall body bent over her and his hands pushed her shoulders down against the seat. The next moment, a knife flashed and slashed his back.

That was when Philae heard the owner scream in panic, and a gleeful laugh.

All Might winced in pain, and his t-shirt soaked in blood.

His blood. Philae failed to understand why it was his. Why he got attacked. Why there were villains out for them. But they attacked her, originally, so it must have been for her.

The world turned into chaos in an instant. Her bond flared with rage. It was her fault again, and All Might found himself in the middle of it. She could not bear it.

She had to do something. Anything. She could not let him suffer. Not him.

As if it waited for her to decide it, a hoarse voice, dry as sand, rumbled through the link and shook it with such power, that the seat under her crackled and caught fire.

 _Express your wish, you who called for me. If that is blood you seek, I shall give it to you. Ask away, and free the wrath in me. Then, all will be over._


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello all,**

 **I tried not to make the villains OOC, but don't hesitate if you have comments on them.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11 – An vow to protect**

Toshinori had acted out of habit.

Some heroes had the indescribable sixth sense to feel when villains were near. All Might was one of them, and even if he knew full well that his body could not buff up to his hero form anymore, said body jumped into action in a heartbeat, without giving his brain any time to catch up.

He was so used to this, that he barely registered the sharp edge of the knife as it plunged into his flesh, nor did he acknowledge the pain at first. Protecting the civilians was top priority.

And right now, the civilian he had unconsciously chosen to protect first was Philae.

However, as blood began soaking his clothes, and hot pain radiated in his shoulder, he could not stop the wince from showing on his face, and he saw his student's eyes widen at this. Her pupils were clouded and panicked, and her shoulders tensed under his palms. She was bracing herself for something. No doubt her link was responding to her, and she was fighting against it.

His mouth filled with a well-known metallic taste, but he retained it. He could not show her he was worse than he looked.

A whine drew him back to the situation at hand. The villain that had stabbed him was complaining quite loudly to someone else. A quick glance confirmed him of their identities.

They were new recruits of the League of Villains. They must have been sent by Shigaraki, to scout and gather information about Philae. Probably to take her, too.

"Shoot!," the blonde girl, Toga, pouted, "I hit the ugly bone bag. Though he looks much better now that he's bleeding."

She giggled and petted her hunting knife fondly, its end still dripping with the retired hero's blood. The male villain who accompanied her, Dabi, a skinny young man with terribly stitched patches of wrinkled, purple skin on his chest, face, and arms, hmphed and thrust his hands into his pockets.

"Whatever. You're crap at targetting," he said.

"Not my fault he jumped in to protect the girl."

"Don't care."

Philae breathed with difficulty. Her link was humming so loudly that blood pounded in her ears. She fought the urge to let the dragon out into the shop. He was powerful, terrifyingly so, and she could not let him wipe out the area. She had sworn to herself she would control her magic.

 _Why resist_ , the voice stated sternly, _I am only obliging. Did you not make a vow to kill bad people? Did you not want them all dead?_

She did, did she not? That might have been what she had wished for at the time, in the lab. She remembered thinking: _If only they could all die, everything would get better._ The dragon had only answered accordingly.

She realized something then. Her first contract had been made out of despair and hatred. A partnership based on negative feelings.

 _You can't do that, innocents will die!_ , she tried to counter.

 _So? Is that not what you wanted, to be free? Is that not why you called me? I only answered. Why does it matter, if it is through death and destruction._

The beast sounded sly, but he was right. He had only answered. After millennia of existence, one could only guess that questions of life and death meant close to nothing to him. He had only answered and got content with this. Philae was the only one able to change that answer.

"Move out of the way, All Might," the girl ordered playfully, "unless you want me to shape you into a magnificent bloody piece of art."

Toshinori stiffened, refusing to reply. So, Shigaraki, and through him All for One, really was after Philae. Why? To take her powers away from her? To use her? He could not let that happen.

What options did he have? He could not fight in his state. Had the owner fled? He hoped so. He would not forgive himself if something happened to her. Heroes in the area could have had a pageant informing them of the commotion, if any witness had seen and reported it to the authorities. If. Until then, they were alone. The best he could do, was buy time and create an opening for his student to flee.

His decision taken, the retired hero squeezed Philae's shoulder briefly before straightening up, hoping she would get the silent indication as a sign he would try something. He was not certain she had got the message, but it hardly mattered. It was too late to think of another plan.

Steeling his mind, he kept his chin up and swallowed down the blood in his mouth.

"I won't let you, and you're not going anywhere. Heroes will soon be here to stop you."

"Oh?" The blonde high school girl put a finger on her mouth, in deep thought. "I didn't see anyone out there. They look happy, I hate happy. I can't be happy, I don't have my Izuku to make bleed."

She was talking nonsense. Izuku, bleeding to death? She sounded way out of her mind. The man was nonplussed and sighed.

"I'm fed up already. Let's kill him quickly and take the girl."

"Can I make him bleed."

"Whatever."

"Yay!"

At the word _kill_ , Philae jolted and jumped up. Sensing her reaction, Toshinori turned a fraction and attempted to keep her behind him. He could not avoid the second attack directed at his throat.

Philae suddenly saw the things in slow motion. Roars echoed on the other side of the link, and she repressed the violent urge to let the other warp out with as much will as she could muster. She could not let him unbind his rage.

She did not want a vow to destroy.

Unable to use her magic, she did the next thing she thought of. Her arms jerked up and intercepted the weapon before it landed on All Might. It sliced into her flesh like butter, and nearly reached the bone. With a yelp, she backed away clutching at her wound.

 _Why do you let them live?_ , the dragon screeched with fury. _How dare they live?_

Her emotions wanted to spill out in flames. Her dragons demanded revenge. She was torn and struggling.

But she held her ground.

Dark flames emanated from the man. Annoyed with the situation, he wanted to finish quickly and leave. Staying too long would mean that heroes would soon swarm up and circle the area. And the stupid wench he had to baby-sit did nothing. So it was up to him to get done with the job.

Toshinori yanked on Philae's arm, but she did not budge. His grip was weaker than before, with his open wound slowing him and making him dizzy. His vision blurred and he blinked, doing his best to stay focused. The flames licked at his shoes and trapped him, separating him from her.

 _No!_

Philae saw the dark fire circle and isolate her. Now anguished for both her and All Might, she tried to find a way out. Her insides burnt with the intensity of the radiating link, with calls and growls rippling through the bond.

The floor cracked and crumbled around her, as sheer power fought for release in her. The calls for bloodshed were growing more and more impervious.

They demanded revenge. She refused to kill.

They wanted action. She did not trust her control over them.

What to do?

She heard someone call her name. In front of her, there was the man, but the girl was nowhere in sight. All Might was alone with her. And he was in no shape to fight back.

Anguish morphed into anger. Anger steeled her resolve. Her thoughts cleared, and while she glared at the villain, she pulled on the link forcefully.

 _Bearer of the Solar Essence_ , she sent mentally, _you will listen._

The man raised a brow. Had he guessed what she was doing?

 _I contracted you at a time when I thought death as the only outcome. I don't anymore._

Fire closed in on her. The air was suffocating.

 _Therefore, if I must, I free you from your duty. My vow is not to kill. It is to protect. That means protecting my friends, my allies, but also my enemies. Protect them from themselves, as from me. Either you accept this, or you leave me._

No answer. For a fleeting moment, the link got silent. Philae was about to decide on a desperate hand-to-hand contact with the man approaching, until she heard, _Very well._

Power surged to her in scorching waves. Energy filled every fibre of her body and made the air around her clear and sing. She felt invigorated and strong.

The villain stopped in stunned contemplation. Something was not right about his target. He had to stop his stupid acolyte before she stepped on dangerous grounds.

Toshinori's breath was laboured. He had tried to dodge some blows, but other had left him even more bloody and weaker. This girl was trying to see how much blood she could shed, before he collapsed. She took great pleasure in it.

A wave of hot air hit them, and the flames around Philae and her opponent evaporated in a whoosh. A low growl came out of her mouth, and when she turned to check on him, he could see trails of smoke coming out of her nostrils. Her pupils split vertically and took a golden hue he had never seen in them.

She was turning into a dragon. The blonde-haired maniac oohed loudly and pouted.

"Uh-oh."

She did not have time to dodge the slender, long thorned tail that smacked her away and into the nearest wall, effectively knocking her out.

Philae felt strange. Her body felt ten times more powerful and sensitive to her environment, and at the same time she felt as if nothing could reach her. Her skin hardened, and her magic flowed freely into her veins with the song of dragon hearts beating in rhythm with hers. Ripples of raging killing wishes tugged at the corners of her mind, but she shook them away.

The dragon had agreed to a change in their core agreement.

A vow to protect. An oath of humanity.

She did not know if she could trust him, but she would take what he offered for now.

She could not last very long, however. Her limbs were creaking with the pressure they went under. She had to end this fast. To attract attention on them, so that the authorities could get to them.

She had the perfect trump for that.

The villain in front of her tried to summon his flames back around him, but she could not let him reach anyone. Stretching her senses as far as she could to detect any presence, she took in a huge breath, pulling on the link to get to her wyvern. Infuriae answered her easily, profanities spewing out of the link while he gave her what she wanted.

 _Now dat's the creepy pancake's out, let's do a Lego Mighty Horror Show wit' Frankenstein's monster!_

She kept the power in for a second, checking one last time that everything was clear. Then, she released everything at once.

The screech she produced could have ripped off any normal man's vocal cords in an instant. The sheer intensity of the note she managed to get out of her throat was enough to make ears bleed and organs explode, should the victim stand right in front of her. Coupled with the magic she infused in it, the villain, then a few feet away, received it as a giant blow in the stomach and went flying backward, the wall, tables, and window behind him disintegrating as if they were made of paper.

Directing the attack downwards and making it as brief as possible, Philae managed to spare the street and buildings on the other side of the road, as well as the man, but the tiled floor of the shop disappeared and a monstrous hole took its place.

The villain landed back on earth in a heap of flesh and bones, limbs broken and at odd angles. His skin tore and bled from multiple cuts, and he nearly cracked his skull on the crumbling pavement. He was barely breathing, but he was breathing still. He had taken much of the blow, but it had not killed him. If medical help came soon, he would heal and live.

She had done it. She had managed to retain her power, more or less, and not kill. With a low rumbling sigh, she let go of her hold on the link. Her skin lost its scales, her eyes found back their natural chocolate hue, and her tail disappeared. Her energy left her.

Turning around, she found All Might on the floor, shocked into silence, but not terrified nor disgusted. He ignored the villains entirely, gaping at her with a strange expression, then turned his head away from her and refused to look at her in the eyes. His face grew red and his posture was very, very stiff.

Anguish clawed at her mind.

Maybe the blonde hero thought she had done too much damage. Maybe she had failed, in fact. She held her head low in uncertainty.

Heroes and emergency teams soon came running to them. They took care of the two villains, especially the man, and carried them out to a large ambulance. A hero scouted the area to make sure all was clear, while another worked on the weakened foundations to secure the building. Officer Tamagawa entered the shop with a colleague, and after a few minutes of taking in the situation and amount of damage done to the place, they joined Philae and Toshinori.

"Are you both alright? Can you walk?," he asked them loudly.

Philae snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the cat-man. She nodded slowly. She tried advancing towards him, but she stumbled on her first step, and he jumped forward to catch her. She was more exhausted than she previously thought, now that the adrenalin had left her body.

"Easy, Miss Crawford," the policeman murmured gently. "Lean on me, I'll help you."

She thanked him quietly, turning her head anxiously to All Might, who was flanked by Tamagawa's colleague. They talked in hushed whispers, and the officer left the blonde for a short moment in order to take off his uniform jacket and offer it to Philae. She took it with a frown, not understanding why he did that.

"You may want to cover yourself, Miss," he said in a professional tone, his cheeks showing the faintest tinge of pink.

 _What does he mean by 'covering my-'... Oh. Oh!_

She turned red the moment she realized why All Might and the policeman acted so oddly. Her clothes were obviously not dragon-tail-proof. What a horrid sight she must have been to them.

She thanked the man and used the jacket to hide her bottom in a hurry, shame burning on her face. She wanted to disappear into the ground.

"I-I'm sorry," she spluttered helplessly, "I wasn't aware..."

She stopped abruptly when she noticed her teacher sway on his feet and fall back to the ground. She called to him and scrambled to catch him, ignoring the shouts of Tamagawa and the other policeman. Her knees landed on the cold floor with a harsh and painful thump, but all she cared about was All Might. She managed to catch him into her arms.

"All Might!"

Toshinori did not hear her. He was already unconscious. He only had time to think they were in good hands, and feel warmness engulf him.

He smiled. He hoped to remain in this comforting cocoon as long as he would be allowed.


	13. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12 – Stems of doubt, seeds of love**

"I don't know how you always manage to get yourself worse than you are, even now when this should be impossible to achieve."

Naomasa was tired. After a tough shift at work, he had received a call from Tamagawa, informing him that Toshinori and the strange Miss Crawford had been involved in a fight against two young villains from the League. First interrogations had unveiled that the attackers had wanted to get a hold of the girl, but the retired hero had intervened and got himself in a pinch very quickly. If not for a surprise attack from Philae, Naomasa might have been without a best friend by now.

"I... don't really have an explanation for that," Toshinori replied lamely, his head resting heavily against the pillow. "They wanted to harm Philae, and you know me, I couldn't let them do it while I was there watching."

"I understand you're fond of your student," the inspector said carefully, "but don't you think it's counter-productive to get yourself killed, even for her? Remember you have a full class in your charge."

The blonde did not answer. For once, his friend did not know about Philae's past, and even if he was perceptive to people hiding things – call it a professional tic –, he could not know at the moment. The blonde had promised he would not tell without his young student allowing it beforehand.

He sighed.

"I know I'm not a hero anymore, Tsukauchi. But I'd have done it for anyone, y'know."

"I do. It's just that, regarding Midoriya, and now Miss Crawford, you have a very, very soft spot, and it's getting too dangerous for you. You barely know her, I remind you. That's the second time the League tries to approach her, and who knows, maybe she is one of..."

"No," Toshinori cut off immediately. "I'm certain she would never be one of them. Plus, if you need proof, she didn't make any phone call or send any suspicious text. Nedzu keeps tabs on her and noticed nothing of the sort."

"Still, my point remains. She could betray you and break you faster than you realize, even unintentionally. She's unstable, and that's not what you need."

The convalescent huffed in mock annoyance.

"Are you talking about my student, or my choice of fiancée?"

Naomasa rubbed his face. His friend was too kind, and too stubborn at times.

"Sometimes I wonder, since you're married to your job." Okay, he had to admit his jab was cheap. He dropped the sarcasm. "But more seriously, you understand what I mean. We decided to trust her to an extent, giving her the benefit of the doubt, because we actually have no element countering her arguments, and no other trace of her in our files, even in the national archives. We sent a formal enquiry to the American and European offices of census, just to make sure, and we have yet to receive their answers, but I suspect they won't be of any more help. In conclusion, for all we know, she could lie about her identity and we'd be none the wiser."

He pinned any protest from the blonde with a stern gaze. He would not have any excuse just now.

"Don't try to find her excuses. U.A. teachers were supposed to _observe_ her, not put themselves into danger for her, not to mention you shouldn't have let her Quirk show so dramatically. Did you see the state of the building, after we evacuated you? It's a miracle it's still standing! And you're lucky no one was harmed." Seeing the relief sweep across the former hero's face, he nodded. "Yes, everyone was safe, apart from the villains, of course, and it's not thanks to you. I've got a merry time kicking the press out and away from her, now. They're hungry for juicy scandals."

Toshinori looked crestfallen and guilty. He had not wanted that, when he had invited Philae out. Now, it was up to Tsukauchi to clean their mess.

"I know, Tsukauchi, believe me, I really do. But..."

"But what? I'm sorry, Toshi, but for all my understanding, I don't want her to come before your own health and safety, much less those of innocents. She looks sweet and honest, but she told us she was around ninety, came from another world, and she freaking turned a dangerous villain into a pile of discombobulated limbs. It's a miracle he's still alive. And I'm not speaking about the Noumu of last time!"

Toshinori winced at the statement. True, Philae's Quirk was dangerous. True, she had barely left her enemy alive. True, he himself gave her too much credit considering the time he had spent with her. However, he was one to act partly with his gut instinct, and he would trust his first impression. She may be everything Tsukauchi might think of her, but he would not stop believing in her. It was impossible for him to put it into words.

"You already know where I stand," he replied at last. "I believe that despite the Quirk you were born with, despite the past you bear, you can tread down the right path. I saw her try to control her power, and I saw her want to protect me. Do you imagine? She, not controlling her Quirk, trying to protect poor quirkless me? No real villain would do that, now would they?"

He did not let his friend give him an answer to that.

"She swore to me she wanted to make things right with her powers, and for the moment she is, even if she's not totally there yet," he assured calmly, determinedly. "I saw what her Quirk can do to her, and I know what it did in the past. It was not pretty, and I guess you had reports of it at some point. I'm convinced that she only needs confidence, and certainly not reproach, to perfect her skills and become as valuable as any other member of class 1A. I understand what you wanna tell me, and believe me I think the same. Still, I can't just tell her I let her down. I keep to my promises."

He had told her he did not accept her past 'murders', and he would probably never brush them aside like nothing. But he had seen her take a few seconds, before she struck the villain. And she had struck downwards, not into his face, thus minimizing a little the impact her attack could have on the man. It had been intended and planned, more or less, as an attempt to spare him. She had not wanted to kill him. It was progress All Might, for all he thought, had to acknowledge. And he would push her to that direction.

"I know, I know," Naomasa placated, "calm down. Jeez, you get touchy with those things. I'm only worried about you. Your kindness will get you killed, one day, and you can't prevent me from thinking she's a potential risk for you. Her powers, if controlled by the League, could be devastating."

"That's why I have to stay by her side," the former hero stubbornly insisted, "so that they can't get a hold of her and her Quirk. The most threatening thing to her, is herself. I'm not good for much anymore, but I can protect her from herself, to an extent, and you witnessed she's perfectly capable of protecting herself against outer threats, should she need to. The potential and will are here, she just needs adjustments."

All the more because Toshinori had sensed a slight shift in Philae's behaviour as regards her link and powers, even if he could not pinpoint what it was. Again, it was a gut feeling, and he trusted it without asking. Maybe she would tell him later if he had been right or not.

Naomasa sighed, defeated. For now.

"All right, I get it. Though I want to ask her a few questions, alone. I need to interrogate her."

The blonde stiffened. His friend reverted back into a policeman, and when he was like this, there was no softening him. He worried for his student, since he did not know how she would react to a stern and unfriendly inspector bombarding her with delicate questions. Or maybe she would manage like a champ.

He would have liked to be here still. But he had no choice.

"Promise you'll be considerate."

Naomasa gave him a wry smile, which did not reassure him at all.

"I can't make that promise, Toshi. Not when state security is at stake. I'm sorry."

Toshinori had a retort ready, but a knock sounded on his hospital room's door and silenced them.

"Enter!," his friend called out before he could.

The door opened and revealed Philae and Izuku, carrying a large flower bouquet and a paper bag full of fruits. The boy was fidgety, intimidated by the presence of the policeman in the room, afraid of interrupting most probably. Phi, for her part, looked like she regretted coming. She was blushing faintly, and her eyes darted to Naomasa in slight worry.

For once, she had pulled her hair back into a long ponytail. Her face was clear of stray brown locks, and Toshinori got reassured to see she was alert, her eyes shining in the light filtering through the window. Her tiredness was visible, but not that present. She was safe and well, and that was all that mattered.

He also noticed just how young she looked, compared to her indicated age. On that aspect, Tsukauchi was right, it could be suspicious. Wondering how such a thing was possible, he reminded himself he, on the contrary, looked far older than he was. Age and appearance were different things, and if Philae's Quirk reinforced her looking young for her age... Besides, he had witnessed first-hand that she still had the spirit of a young woman the age of Izuku. So, to him, she was perfectly normal, and his policeman of a friend would have to learn to relax.

He only hoped she would remain this well even after Tsukauchi's relentless questioning.

"Are you busy, All Might?," Izuku asked timidly. "The nurses told us you could accept visits, but if we're unwelcome..."

"Not at all," the inspector answered standing up, "I was about to leave. Please take my seat, Midoriya. Miss Crawford, I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind?"

Philae watched him for an instant, before she nodded meekly. The green-haired teen looked between her and Naomasa, worry painted all over his freckled face.

"Is everything alright...?"

"Don't worry, my boy," Toshinori intervened, "Tsukauchi only wants to clear the happenings of the attack, and as Philae is one of the prime witnesses..."

"Oh, right! Sorry to pry."

He stepped away and closer to the blonde's hospital bed, letting Naomasa pass by him and go to Philae. Now in full inspector mode, he motioned her to go before him and followed her, closing the door behind them.

Phi had expected the interrogation. As she was the one who had flattened one villain into a wall, and nearly shredded another to pieces of rotten meat, she knew the police would have a few unpleasant questions for her. Nonetheless, it did not mean that she was prepared for this.

Naomasa, without his reassuring and comprehensive smile, was frightening. He seemed to be able to see right through her, but not in a nice way. He was looking for clues. Trying to pick her apart by the sole power of his gaze. Maybe it was his Quirk?

They got seated in a spare room, away from prying ears and eyes. Alone. And for the last few minutes, Naomasa had only been studying her. When he spoke, he used a flat, sterile, professional tone.

"I believe you know why we're here."

She took in a breath and nodded.

"Yes."

"Good. As you know, we put you under the supervision of the teaching staff at U.A., so that you could integrate into a learning programme fitting your abilities, according to our wish to give you the benefit of the doubt, as well as our need to keep you safe. We trusted you to some extent, because of a lack of information and our belief that we could keep the situation under control."

He paused. Then, he concluded, "We got a half-success on that regard."

So far, she could get where he was going. She waited silently.

"I will be clear with you," the inspector went on, "I don't trust you so much anymore. The interest you raise from the League of Villains oversteps our first intent to keep you as free as possible. We thought that under supervision, they wouldn't try anything. That you'd be able to control your Quirk and shape it into hero material quickly enough to stifle their wish to enrol you. To say it didn't go as planned would be a giant understatement."

Philae gulped slightly, fearing the rest. The policeman put his elbows on his knees and rested his chin on his joined hands, his gaze piercing her as if she was a butterfly under a pin.

"I understood it was Toshinori's idea to take you out on himself, thus exposing both of you, as well as innocent citizens, to immediate danger. This is not unusual for him to disregard his own safety for the sake of others, but I'm surprised by how simple villains had been able to reach you. That may be a mistake on our part, or not. In any case, I can't rule out malicious intent from you, and now I have urgent questions to ask you. You cannot avoid them, and trying to mislead this interrogation may not be in your favour. Whether I consider your answers truthful or not, will determine largely your ability to stay free. Do you understand?"

His distrust hurt, but it was understandable. She had no choice but to comply, and expressed her agreement. He nodded and produced a notebook and pen from his coat pocket.

"Alright. I'll ask short, simple questions, and make them more complex as we progress. First, what's your name?"

"Philae Rosa Helen Crawford."

It had been a long time since she last used her full name, courtesy of Orion when he adopted her, and it sounded strange in her ears. She was too used to hearing others call her Phi.

"Where were you born?"

"I think it was in Orleans, France."

"You think, or you're sure."

"I think."

She could not say more to that. She did not have any birth certificate to prove her point, and Orion had forged one when she became a Crawford.

"Mh." He scribbled something on the side. "When were you born?"

"Again, I think it was around 1930-something."

Dates were tricky with her. And again, without any birth certificate, neither she or the policeman could clarify this further.

Naomasa frowned in disbelief.

"That would make you a nonagenarian. No offence, but you look like a regular teenager to me."

He studied her tanned skin, athletic slender limbs, and fresh complexion devoid of wrinkles and other traces of age. Nothing made her externally different from her classmates at U.A.

She offered him a confused frown.

"I am."

"Care to explain?"

Her face soured into a regretful grimace.

"I don't really know. I remember a lot of things, but there are... blanks. Huge chunks of time I have no memory of."

Sh was so used to them missing, and her relatives never brought them up, so that she did not think about them anymore and tended to make do without them. Now that the inspector pointed out the irregularities of her existence, they came back to her face, in a painful reminder that her childhood had been anything but normal. She was a freak.

"I..." She licked her lips and gathered the strength to explain. "I feel as if I were put on hold for a certain period, then rebooted. I know time passed without me knowing, if only because of the dates, but I have no idea of how it did, and what I did during those periods."

"That hardly explains how your body can be this... preserved," Tsukauchi pressed on.

"I know. As I already told you, magical beings are not so common in my world, so we don't have studies on those strange happenings. Only tales and speculations. I don't think it would be relevant for you to hear old granny tales."

"Try me."

She blinked.

"Oh. Well, the most plausible answer would be that contracting with fantasy creatures, beings that are millennia old, affects us physically. Dragons survive dynasties, and when they create a partnership with a human, the human has to be able to sustain the link for a while longer than a mere century, otherwise it's pointless. So, the magic exchanged between me and the dragons, makes it that my body doesn't age in the same way."

She tried to put it into a logical light. As logical as a story about dragons could be.

"Again, this is only a theory, as I've never really aged like the average man, even if I only created my first bond at the age of six. Mentally six, I mean. And in body, which is weird all things considered. I think it was around 1945 then, and I was technically fifteen, but my body had not shifted."

She got entangled in her explanation, unsure of how she could turn it for the policeman to get it properly.

"Anyway, my biological father also told me once that our blood contained the power in itself, and that bonds only activated further powers. So, I guess I could have lived much longer than a human being, even without the draconic link, if not so long as with it."

Naomasa seemed to follow, as he fired his next question as soon as he finished writing down his last note.

"So, concretely speaking, how long do you think you could live with it, and without it, in average?"

Phi's face scrunched up in concentration.

"I... have no idea. I've never really asked the dragons about it. But Orion, my stepfather, once tested me for diseases, before he adopted me. He said that my cells lived ten to twelve times longer than an average man's. So, if we expand my life expectancy with this ratio, I could safely live about a good thousand years, maybe a thousand and five hundred. Without the link, it should be less, though I don't know how much less."

"That makes an awful lot. But you still have the mind of a teen, even when you're near a hundred years old, am I right?"

This made little sense. Even in their own tales, never had Tsukauchi heard of an ageless being remaining a non-adult in their head. Perhaps it was only folklore, but logic and simple observation wanted that wisdom came with years and experience, so his point still stood. Philae fidgeted.

"Again, I can only speculate. If I remember correctly, I slept for a very long time. And complete periods got wiped out of my memory, if I ever had memories about them at all. When my brother and I got abducted..."

"Hold on. Abducted? By whom? When? Why?"

Now he was lost. Was this the trauma she had mentioned on their first meeting? He needed to know more. This was an essential piece of information if he ever saw one.

"Oh, sorry. I explained things to All Might, but I guess he held up to his promise of not telling anyone..."

He got irritated. Toshinori could protect his student all he wanted, detaining information for the sake of protecting was not right. Tsukauchi would have to talk to his friend later.

"He did. Would you like to enlighten me, then?," he encouraged her, trying to push his anger down.

"Huh, well... yeah, I will." She hesitated a little, then continued. "My brother and I got abducted by the age of four, or five, and we were put into an artificial sleep. I think a few years passed, during which we got transported from our village in Greece, to Japan. When I woke up, we were around 1941 – I saw a calendar on the wall of a staff's resting room, once –, and I was turning four. I think. And even if we didn't sleep, I have a huge blank between the attack on my home, and my being in the lab. The first of a long list."

This got more puzzling by the minute. The inspector's frown deepened.

"So, if I follow you, you were both put into an artificial coma, or something of the sort, brought to a, lab and experimented on. Was it because of your Quirks?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"And to put it not so simply?"

Philae froze, more nervous by the minute. She did not like where this was going.

"I guess we had the potential to become weapons. No, I'm sure we were considered like these. To that regard, any means was good to turn us into these. Our Quirks were components of the weapon, and they needed to be awoken. We underwent genetic experiments, as well as physical testing, mental abuse, the like."

She did not explain further, but Naomasa did not need her to. He hummed pensively.

"I see. So, you didn't have the opportunity to mature according to your age before 1941. What about the fifty plus years after that?"

"I told you. Blanks. When the lab got, er, let's say shut down, it should have been the beginning of 1945. From then on, to 1989, I only have bits and pieces of memories, sensations with no connections whatsoever, and my brother refuses to open on the matter."

"He was there at the time?"

"Yeah... But he wouldn't tell about it, and it's been frustrating me for years. He simply told me I was out for a very, very long time, reduced to an empty shell. When my power violently awoke, my body could not sustain it and got severely damaged, as well as my brain. I fell into a coma until both were perfectly functioning again. I gathered as much. Kai won't tell me how I was, if I was able to do anything on my own or not, but for sure, it marked him enough so that he wants to avoid me knowing too much about it."

"How unfortunate."

The inspector's suspicion made Philae shiver. She felt helpless and accused of lying, even if he did not say it out loud. But she said the truth. She could only continue.

"I'm the first to suffer from it. Apparently, it took me a long time to heal, and to learn how to be human again. Because of that, my body could not develop like it should have, as it was busy surviving and mending itself before anything else. I might even have been clinically dead, but I have no proof of that. I don't know how magic contributed to my miracle healing, nor do I know if Kai did something with his own powers. The only thing I know, is that after that, my brother wouldn't talk about magic. That's all I can tell."

A pause, then, "I know you don't believe me, but... that's all I have. And I'm aware it's not much. I wish things were different, too."

Tsukauchi raised his head from his notes, his eyes bearing into hers. He found no trace of lies. Still, he did not let himself be convinced that easily.

"Speaking of your brother, how did he grow up?," he asked next.

"Kai... He, er, aged... Not in body, or at least, at our speed. So, I'd say he's got the features of a twenty-seven-year-old man. In spirit, he's over sixty, and his mind is sometimes at odds with his body."

Memories, this time, flooded her brain. She could still figure Kai sitting at his desk, a forlorn look on his sharp, but marked features. Years spared him for now, but past trials had taken their toll on him. He looked tired. Old. Weighed by experience and years alike. And yet, he could still laugh and watch her with unbidden, brotherly love. Putting her before himself. Loving her before everyone else. How she wished he could take care of himself, sometimes.

How she missed him...

"On some topics, he's a young man," she eventually spoke up, "but on others, he's acting like a grandpa. You can see in his eyes that he's older than what he looks, and he is, yet he's also according to his exterior age. He plays the piano, listens to operas, discourses on the political situation in South Ethiopia, and he refers to me as 'a kid of these days'. He looks at the world as if he knew everything of it and did not want any of its wonders anymore. He also plays video games, loves kick-boxing matches, board role-playing games, and hard-metal bands. Not to mention his shared passions with Orion. He laughs carelessly, even if those are rarer and rarer, and he often has a veiled gaze when he thinks no one's looking. In one word, he's... torn. And his sickness is weakening his young side and carefree smile, leaving only the old, empty eyes I came to hate."

"I see." Naomasa answered quietly, writing away, his brows furrowed in thought. "And your stepfather, how did he come to adopt you?"

"He did when I was... out. Again, Kai is vague about it, and Orion explains little more. I learned he was the son of one of the primary investors of the lab, Sagittari Crawford Jr., and he wanted to make amends for his progenitor's crimes. He searched for us for eight years, looking for clues of our whereabouts – well, mostly Kai's –, before he found us somewhere near Russia. As he adopted us ten years after his wife's death, I guess it was also a means to appease his mind."

"How old are you, in your opinion?"

"Huh. In mind, you mean?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure... Orion adopted us in 1990, and according to Kai, it was around then that I began to come about and regain consciousness of myself, and my development actually resumed from that time, so it can be inferred that I'm seventeen, maybe eighteen?"

"We're way past 2007."

"Here, maybe, but not in my world. There, it's 2007."

"Right. And your control over your powers? The first time you fought against a villain, the Noumu, you had enough control to summon a dragon and roast it. The second time, you managed to sprout a tail and produce a screech to knock down two enemies on your own. And yet, I read in reports from Recovery Girl that you had an episode, during which you nearly got killed because you couldn't control your Quirk and used almost all your energy. Why is that, that you're so unstable?"

"... honestly, I didn't know until, well, earlier," she fumbled with words again, insecure, "when I went all-in to defeat the villain."

"Okay, continue."

"I think I already mentioned my powers were connected to my emotions." When Naomasa nodded, she went on. "During both fights, I had a strong urge to protect someone, or at least to knock down the menace. My wish to do something, my feeling of urgency, and maybe panic, echoed with the emotions of the dragons and provoked a chain reaction. It ignited their fighting spirit, and in return they shared their powers with me. My ability to fight is conditioned with the emotions and energy invested into the process, and it's something I can sense, strangely enough. But this was different during training."

"How so?"

"I had no enemy, and I was calm and carefree. As you may guess, the conditions were quite different, and I summoned a tiny dragon to maintain the link open and see how long I could sustain it. It was a test of endurance. Except I had no idea of how much energy I burnt in a peaceful situation, whereas I have a more acute sense of it when I'm fighting. Like when you're near death, your instincts kick in and tell you things you wouldn't be aware of normally. I didn't feel it when my body started to decline, and neither did the dragon, for it was probably too young. In retrospect, it was bound to fail from the start."

"You didn't know about your own Quirk?"

"How could I?" Now she felt desperate and angry. "I only used it like, what, a dozen of times? Not much more, and only for a few minutes. In my world, we tend to hide difference, we don't wear it like a banner in the street. It's unusual to step out of norms, and norms state that you don't have magic. It's impossible for most people. So, I've never trained my Quirk. Not that I wanted to, anyway. See how dangerous it can get."

Tsukauchi hummed and scratched something on his notebook, which began to be covered in scribbles. So, Philae was aware of the danger of her Quirk, and she purposefully avoided using it. That said a lot. But he needed to know some more, before he drew his conclusions.

"If I recap, you told me you had better control over your Quirk when in fighting situation, because of the strong emotions you can feel, as well as adrenaline rush and a better awareness of your own body. In a calmer situation, that control escapes you. Right. What about your brother's disease? Pardon my question, but shouldn't you be sick, too, if you didn't use your Quirk for so long?"

Philae gasped quietly and gulped.

"Theoretically, I should. Unused, my brother's magic backlashes on his body, damaging it faster than it could heal. I have no healing power, so I agree with you that I should be worse than he."

"But you don't. Why?"

"That's tricky. My own guess is that, unconsciously, I accept my condition. More or less. I wish I could be different, and I hate myself sometimes. Nevertheless, I know I was born like this, and I accept that. I don't turn my dragons away, I don't turn my back to my nature. I'm half-magical, and I won't change."

A pause. She sighed.

"But Kai isn't like that. He used to tell me stories about our ancestors, about magic and such. He doesn't anymore. He tolerates magic and fantasies in video games and films, but he can't stand them in reality. He doesn't want me to talk about it, the word 'magic' is forbidden... he associated magic with a curse. We're cursed. The second people noticed Kai's wounds healed faster than usual due to his magic, we were doomed. And in the lab, it got worse. From then on, we got relentlessly tested. My powers hadn't shown yet, so they used Kai's to make him suffer in front of me, hoping I would present something of value."

"So Kai presented before you did."

"Yes. And to him, his inborn ability turned into our downfall. It attracted attention on us, even though the villagers were quite secretive for the most of them. One was enough to sell us out to the invaders. Then, it was the symbol of our torture. Because he was magical, I had to be, too, and as we were young, we were considered breakable, malleable. So they insisted, again and again. And when I presented..."

"Yes?"

"When my powers awoke, my prime bond, the one from which others are created, was with Haliosade, Bearer of the Solar Essence. A king of sorts, for the dragons, or so I think. His power is immense, and it allows me to make contracts with others. My first contact with him, at a time when I needed him most, was based on one term. The pillar on which everything would be built later on. And young as I was, I didn't realize how important it was."

She paused again. Tsukauchi prompted her, even if he felt he already knew the answer.

"What was that term?"

"I... I was so distraught, that I only wished for them all to disappear, so that Kai and I could be free again. And that was just what Heliosade offered me: disappearance of all things. A vow to destroy."

There, she had said it. There was no doubting what had happened, and she knew that the inspector had understood. She only had to finish, now.

"As time went by, I met other dragons and contracted them, but even if no dragon is the same as his peers, the prime term remained unchanged. Until the last fight."

Naomasa took a few seconds to note everything down and digest the information. He could read between the lines, and guess what the girl – woman? – in front of him did not tell him. To be reduced to such a gruesome thing, no matter the age, was unimaginable. If Toshinori knew of this, no wonder he was so moved by his student, whom he actually knew more than you could think. When he spoke again, it was in a calm, softer voice.

"What changed?"

"I changed the prime vow. I refuse to kill and destroy. I... A hero's vow is to protect. Protect peace, protect the innocents, protect society. So, I wanted this to become mine. Ours. Our vow... And it worked. That's why I believe I'll be able to expand my control and train my Quirk properly, now. And to answer your previous question regarding Kai, he's refusing to do what I'm doing. He represses his nature. He contains his magic until it is ready to explode. And it's killing him. But I can't help it, and neither can he. So, I'm trying to find someone to relieve him of his burden. That's the least I can do. I... I hope you'll understand that."

She felt the policeman's gaze on her and refused to look at him again. He was judging her. Evaluating her. Eventually, Naomasa let out a heavy sigh and spoke again.

"You make this really complicated, Miss Crawford. On the one hand, I want to find the crack in your story, to dismember it and uncover how fake you are. It sounds so unrealistic, that I find it hard to admit there is some kind of sense to it. On the other hand, however, I want to believe your story. Toshinori, All Might, decided to trust you, and I've never seen him be wrong about his gut feelings. Most of the time, I go along with them. And you just tried to prove your truthfulness."

Philae felt a tiny spark of hope light up in her.

"I don't deserve All Might's efforts and kindness. However, when I told him this..."

"He brushed your comment off as nonsense," Tsukauchi finished for her. "Typical. He could be killing himself trying to save a kitten on top of a skyscraper, and still have this goofy smile, as if the only thing that mattered was the other, and not him. He's destructing himself. And to be honest, I'm worried _you_ will finish him one day."

She started at that, her eyes as wide as saucers. She, destroying All Might? Would she really be able to do that? That horrified her.

Her reaction was not missed to Naomasa, who stored it in a corner of his mind.

"All Might was great hero, and now he's a very dedicated teacher. But he's too dedicated, and I fear it'll kill him faster than it should. Either he doesn't realize it, or he does and doesn't care. In any case, I need to watch out for him, in his place."

His eyes zeroed to hers, so serious that she felt he might kill her right this instant if she stepped out of place.

"Mark my words, Miss Crawford. I agree to letting him follow his instincts, which have never failed him so far. I wish to believe you will become a great hero, one day, and I want to believe in his ability to train and shape you into just that. However, if you show any sign of betraying him, or harming him in any way, I shall swear that no Quirk will be able to protect you from me. I'll have your head."

His threat hung heavy and ominous in the air, but Philae was not afraid. Her link hummed calmly in tune with her heart, and she held her head up as she levelled a gaze of her own. Her hazel orbs flashed with something Tsukauchi recognized as defiance, fierce determination that accepted no doubt.

"With due respect, inspector," she replied firmly, "I shall swear that if ever I were to harm All Might, voluntarily or not, I'd be the first to offer my head for you to take."

At this, she radiated a maturity Naomasa had never seen until then. She was as serious as he, and his mind felt oddly at peace with that. He nodded.

"Then I only have one question left: are you planning on staying? I understand you're here for a cure to your brother's disease, and you have yet to precise what type of healer you need. Speaking of which, I have a few names already, but I'd like to have some more before we filter them. Apart from that, I'd like to know if you plan on coming back to our world and get you pro license, once your brother is healed."

"O-of course, if you'd have me." Philae flushed. "I know I'm untrained, and my Quirk is mercurial at best, but I really think that being a hero would be the best use of it. It could benefit a lot of people."

"I see. Tell me, when will you be able to travel between worlds again?"

Now that was a question she asked herself regularly. She made a face.

"I wish I knew. I was given a device from a friend, who infused it with the ability to travel through dimensions, but it needs an awful lot of energy, and my stamina has not been at its best since I landed here. It could take months to be at full capacity again. It depends on if I have to use my magic again soon, or not. In any case, Orion has things covered for me, so my absence would be noticed, but not commented on."

"An heiress disappearing from the public sphere is not something I wouldn't comment on."

"When you sell people some excuse, along with a threatening enough persona, believe me, one is not too eager to come after you. Orion is a child in his head, but he's always covered me seriously and without fail. And Kai... well, I think he guesses what I'm doing, and he hasn't the strength to forbid me from doing it anymore..."

She looked so sad, that Tsukauchi decided he had enough for one day. That were acceptable answers, if he accepted the strangeness of it all. The policeman got satisfied for now and stood up to mark the end of the interrogation. Philae understood and followed his gesture, standing up herself, and the pair went to the door. Naomasa stopped just before it, and turned back to her with a small, tentative smile.

"I meant everything I said, but I think I won't have to put my threat into action. You seem to like that doofus, maybe as much as he likes you already."

She needed some time to figure out he was talking about her teacher. When she did, she flustered a little.

"How could I not like a man like him? I promise you I'll try to repay him anything he's doing for me. I'll always be grateful."

Tsukauchi believed that. He nodded and opened the door.

"I'm sure."

* * *

 _Two hours later_

Izuku was a sweetheart, but right now, Toshinori died to know what Tsukauchi had concluded about Philae. Truth be told, he feared his friend did not approve of her and her Quirk anymore, and now that she showed progress, he was reluctant to let her go like that.

 _Is it just me,_ he suddenly wondered, _or is it sounding very wrong, said like this?_

He chased the thought away and tried to concentrate on what his protegee was saying. He was really proud of his heir, but he found it hard to focus on him this time. He felt ashame.

Naomasa eventually came back, without Philae, and the boy excused himself to give them some privacy, promising to come back soon. Toshinori smiled and waved at him, internally wondering where his other student could be. His friend did not put her into a cell, did he?

"You have very considerate students," the inspector said when the door closed, eyeing the bouquet that had been put into a vase next to the blonde's bed.

"They are," he confirmed, "I'm glad to have them all."

"So am I. All of them."

No more words were needed. Relieved, Toshinori sighed, which Tsukauchi noticed but did not comment on.

"I'm glad."

"Me too."

"Frankly, I was worried you'd put her to prison."

"Was you?" Naomasa chuckled. "No, I sent her back to U.A., with an escort. I preferred her not to be out too late and that she was back to safety."

"You were right. Thank you."

"She'll come back tomorrow, if you want to know."

The former hero formed an embarrassed smile, and Tsukauchi knew he had guessed right. A devilish idea popped into his mind, and he could not resist.

"A fiancée, huh?"

Surprised, Toshinori blinked owlishly, then huffed.

"Well, you sound just like my mother sometimes."

"I can understand how difficult it must have been for her, having a stubborn son like you."

"Oh, shut it."

The inspector laughed and pushed further.

"You can't blame me for being suspicious. Tamagawa told me you had a nice view in there, before a colleague could give her something to cover herself. Was he right?"

At that, the blonde went beetroot red and wished he could disappear into the mattress. He had waited for his friend to tease him about it, but not like this, and not now.

"Stop it. It wasn't funny. She didn't know."

"What? The greatest hero, All Might, flushes like a virgin in front of a piece of butt? I'm shocked!"

"She's my student, for God's sake!" Toshinori hid his face behind his hands.

"So? She's good-looking, isn't she?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Okay, okay, relax. Not my fault you're so prudish, it's just too tempting."

"Yeah, please refrain from teasing me when it concerns my students."

"Okay, Daddy Might. Don't punch my teeth in."

Tsukauchi watched his friend groan in exasperation, smiling fondly despite himself. Then, he said without thinking, "You really like her, don't you?"

The blonde glanced at him quizzically, not understanding if it was a jab or a real question.

"Well, yes," he finally answered, "I love all my students."

The inspector's smile got sibylline. He only nodded.

"You sure do."

 _But you don't realize how deep your love can be._

* * *

 **Hello all!**

 **I hoped this chapter was not too confusing. I'm trying to infuse background info between episodes of action and/or fluff, and it's a challenge to have some balance in everything. Here, it was a chapter heavy with background story (bless Naomasa) XD**

 **Concerning Philae's age, it's tricky and I cannot really give definite numbers. In fact, as you may have noticed, she's not sure herself, but she is around 17 in mind, with more maturity on some subjects. She can also cry like a child, because of her past trauma. Kai, for his part is unbalanced in another way, bcause he aged, and that's what is interesting.  
**

 **As regards Philae's world, again, I take inspiration from different universes to create my own mix.** ** **To answer some questions, it may look like Avengers (Tony Stark being a great example of childish man), but nope, it isn't like that. It could be Fairy Tail concerning the magic stuff, and it's true I inspired slightly from Lucy's way of contracting her spirits, but it stops there.** Things will get more precise with time, but I can't write a block of information and throw it at your face like that XD  
**

 **I changed Philae's date of birth in chapter 7, because I just noticed I put 1920 instead of 1930... silly me XD**

 **Anyway, thanks for all your comments, which help me build my story to make it as readable and nice as possible!**

 **Cheers!**


	14. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 – New plans

"Ten more laps, and then _maybe_ you'll have a break."

Aizawa sounded more irritated than usual, and Philae obeyed without so much as a groan. If she complained too strongly to the other's taste, she was sure she would have to run twenty laps instead of ten. Her teacher was just in no mood to hear her out.

It seemed her episode against the villains did not go unnoticed per se, especially by the media and the police, but at UA, there was another group who had had a tough time, and her adventures were drowned into the maelstrom of events. Izuku and Kirishima had encountered new forms of instant villains, boosted with an illegal drug called 'Trigger'. The public was beginning to get aware of that phenomenon, and it was getting dangerous. The League of Villains was now one of many other problems and the pros had a lot on their plates, Aizawa included.

Hence the dark-haired male's fuming attitude at the fact that he had to watch Philae until All Might was out of the hospital. He had twice as much work to do, with helping his colleagues and baby-sitting the dragon disaster. Talk about his shitty luck. To vent off his anger, he made the young woman train physically like a drill sergeant, deciding everything, to the times when she could go pee. He knew no mercy, and heard no arguments. In his eyes, if the girl could pull out such a stunt, growing dragon parts and the like, there was no arguing against a drastic training. It was time she had the same treatment as her classmates, all the more because she had a longer way to go.

The most urgent matter was her stamina. Clearly, the energy drain her Quirk demanded was likely to kill her more quickly than any villain she could encounter. So, she had to work on expanding her physical and mental endurance, so as to sustain a stable link with minimal effort, and get more aware of her body's limits. His programme might not be as thought of as All Might's, but at least it did not involve mayhem or student-killing risks. And it could be applied on anyone, Philae Crawford included, regardless of Quirks and individual abilities. The only thing he had to adapt, was the level of his exercises. He was tough, but not a sadist. Well, not too much at least, and less so when he was not pissed-off. The girl would survive this anyway, if she could survive two villains at once.

She would also have to ask one of her dragons if _they_ sensed her and the link's limits, just so that it was clear on both parts that the last incident was not to happen again, and that it was everyone's matter to counter such happenings if need be. Philae and he had agreed to summon the fire wyvern, for even if he was grating on Aizawa's nerves, he was wiser than the tiny green chick, and less dangerous than the gigantic serpentine dragon king. And he seemed to respect his young summoner, so there were fewer chances that he would let her kill herself from exhaustion. Or so the teacher hoped. In any case, he could still try to use his erasing Quirk.

Philae finished her tenth lap, sweating and out of breath. They had gone on like this since the early hours of the day. Running, stretching, pulling some weights, stretching, jumping, stretching, running again. Never the same exercise for too long, and never involving the same muscles twice in a row. It had been her routine for some days now, and she wondered when she would even begin to get used to it. At least, Anubis was allowed to follow her, as long as he did not disturbed her, and he offered some kind of support. She complied to anything Professor Aizawa made her do, and focused hard on not disappointing him. His hawking gaze never left her, preying for her mistakes.

She knew it was for her own good, but she could not help expecting the afternoons impatiently, for she was free to go visit All Might at the hospital. As free as she could when escorted with two policemen in civilian's clothes, anyway. She had seen her teacher looked even jumpier than she, apparently irritated with staying in bed for too long, and she tried her best to cheer him up.

But before that, she had to survive her spar against Eraserhead. The dark-haired male was waiting for her on the training grounds, shooing Anubis into a corner and glaring daggers at her. She prayed the gods to have mercy on her and joined him.

* * *

Toshinori hated hospitals. They reminded him of unpleasant times, and he would have preferred running away as soon as his legs could carry him long enough to go back home. Unfortunately for him, his body would not comply. He could not move too much, or his wounds would never heal properly. The stab wound, along with one of the largest gashes he had received, had both needed quite a number of stitches, and the doctors were unwilling to let him go until they were beginning to mend. He could not afford neglecting his body like the time when he was All Might, so he let the medical staff force him to stay, and Philae's visits were one of the rare daily events he looked forward to. Young Midoriya was busy with his internship, and Tsukauchi had tried to visit for coffee one afternoon, but he was quite occupied too. Other than that, the blonde was alone. In a sanitised room. And he hated this.

Of course, the 'Hole-in-jeans' accident had never been mentioned again. It had been tacitly agreed that the subject would not be broached, as both Toshinori and Philae were too embarrassed to look at each other in the eyes if they thought about it, for very different reasons.

The former hero could absolutely _not_ think about his student in any other way than 'nice', and so he banned the words 'cute', 'attractive' and their synonyms from his dictionary when it concerned her. She was his _student_ , and she would remain that way if he could have it. He only hoped she would get dragon-proof clothes soon, so that his poor heart avoided another mini cardiac arrest. He would not ever think about why he reacted so disproportionately. Better to leave that Pandora Box closed and sealed.

Naturally, no one except them, the officer present at the time, Tomagawa, and Tsukauchi, knew of this, and it had to stay that way. Aizawa especially, could not know about this. Never. Toshinori preferred torture to this. He could bear with the teasing of his detective friend, but not the vicious, sadistic kind of humour the dark-haired male appreciated.

As for Philae, she could not admit her mortification at embarrassing her teacher in front of others with her carelessness. Not only him, but Tamagawa had seen, too, to her utter misery. Part of her argued that they had probably seen worse than a patch of butt skin, but still, it had been _her_ butt, exposed in front of _All Might_ , the most famous hero on this side of the planet, and her bloody _teacher_ , the one man she respected most here. By the gods, was that shameful. She was glad he did not mention anything, and she would not either. She began to owe him quite a few things.

All in all, both of them simply enjoyed snacks and light discussions together, sometimes centred on All Might's – past – career, sometimes unveiling snippets of Philae's life in her world. The blonde discovered his was more advanced in some aspects, such as support devices like trackers, intercoms, and everything the hero industry had helped develop over the years. However, Philae's had developed far more advanced technologies in terms of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and entertainment. Those different evolution tendencies were obviously connected with the specific aspects of each world, but it never ceased to amaze him, that heroes had only existed in fiction for the young woman. Then again, so had incredible, Earth-destroying powers for him. So he got endlessly captivated with the parallels and discrepancies they could draw between their dimensions.

Toshinori sighed and fidgeted in his bed, waiting. The young woman always came around three, and from two and a half, he was already feeling impatient. The whole morning had been uneventful, and he was eager to have company, at last. He absently scratched on his bandaged side, which twinged unpleasantly but not too painfully. The nurses had checked on him, and his doctor had come earlier to tell him he would be able to go rest at home in a day or so. He was alone in his room, with his phone and a TV he cared little about. His friend was at the station, working on that strange case of instant villains, and his young heir was at Nighteye's agency. He could not get himself to find an occupation and he was dead bored. So, he waited as he could.

A knock on his door sounded at three and a quarter. Toshinori called out to them to enter, and Philae came in, a bag in hand. She sported a few more bruises and cuts than the day before, but they did not seem to bother her too much. She was smiling.

"Hello, All Might," she greeted him, panting slightly, "sorry to be late."

The retired hero waved at her, a smile instantly forming on his lips.

"No worries, it's not as if I'd go anywhere. I'm glad you're here."

Her cheeks were flushed, and she tried to catch her breath while she approached the chair next to his bed and sat down. Had she been running? It appeared so. Behind her, one of the two policemen escorting her closed the door. Toshinori glanced at it briefly, before he turned back to her.

"No problems with villains? I heard they're getting more daring."

Instant villains popped randomly anywhere these days. The worst, was that those were normal citizens, until the drug got injected in them, and their Quirk went out of control because of it. The authorities and heroes were overwhelmed with alerts, and the League had taken advantage of the various scuffles to retrieve the two injured recruits Philae had taken out, when their guardians had been distracted enough. Tsukauchi was on edge, and the girl still had her escort only because she appeared a priority in the villains' interests. The former hero did not tell her this, though. He did not want to worry her.

Philae scoffed and shook her head.

"With my two bodyguards tailing me non stop? Not a chance."

"Right. I thought you just ran away from a fight."

"What?" She looked surprised. "No, I was at the convini down the street, and I took more time than necessary to get you something. There were too many choices. In the end, it was silly, 'cause I got you simple stuff."

She opened the bag and took out two cans of iced green tea from a famous brand, two paper cups, a plate, a knife, apples, and a melon pan. The blonde eyed the items, humming at her remark.

"Great choice still."

Philae broke into a grin.

"Simple is best at times." She opened one of the cans and poured the drink in one of a cup, then gave it to All Might. She frowned slightly. "I'd prefer my guardians to do more interesting things, though, like their usual job. I'm not comfortable with my distracting them from their duties, and as much as they tell me they're okay with it, I know they aren't."

Toshinori accepted the cold drink and took a sip, grateful for the familiar taste.

"Protecting you is also part of their job," he tried to appease her. "No matter how powerful your Quirk is, you're not supposed to use it, and you're still considered a civilian until you've got your provisional license."

"I know, but it's so frustrating!," she protested. "They're surely needed somewhere else, and they must be missed on much more serious cases. Yet here they are, following a dumb teenage girl. And they're not the only ones. You should see Professor Aizawa... He's furious, and rightly so."

Ah. Sure, the blonde could imagine Aizawa's awful mood pretty well. Maybe he would talk to his colleague and apologise for the trouble. As for Philae, he guessed it only meant she underwent harsh, but fair treatment from the dark-haired gruff. It might serve her more than anything he could do at the moment, so he was sorry but not too worried. She was in good hands.

He took another sip and let out a contented sigh.

"Thank you, the tea here is awful," he declared, earning a snort and a cheeky wink.

"I noticed."

They chuckled at that. It must be a curse, that coffee machines in hospitals always produced horrible things. Tsukauchi had nearly choked on the dishwater he had been served, and Toshinori preferred drinking vinegar rather than their tea.

Philae took an apple and proceeded to peel it. Watching her hands work around the fruit, the blonde insisted.

"You shouldn't feel bad for that. It's not your fault that the villains attacked you. You managed to knock them out, but the police needed to discourage other potential attacks. You don't have to feel undermined because of it."

The knife paused a fraction, before it resumed its task.

"No. But I don't like to be a burden to anyone."

"I understand, but believe me, you're not. It's just how it goes."

If anything, _he_ felt like the burden here. Without her, the retired hero might have been turned into sliced ham by that Toga girl. The thought that he now needed to be saved by others, while he had been the one saving for so long, left a bitter taste in his mouth, that even the delicious tea he was drinking could not wash down.

Philae hummed uncertainly, cutting the fruit into pieces and placing them neatly on the plate. She offered them to All Might, who thanked her and took a bite. She then opened the plastic wrapping of her melon pan, amused blue eyes observing her.

"You really can't resist the stuff. I didn't know one could love melon pan so much."

She stopped and her cheeks coloured again, this time from embarrassment.

"Sorry. Would you prefer some of it, and I eat the apple?"

When she came, she always offered him her pan, which he politely refused, preferring the fruit. His stomach accepted the latter better, whereas he reserved the sweets and cakes for very special occasions, as he had difficulties to digest them properly if he ate too many. Philae knew that and chose the food she brought him consequently, but it did not stop her from offering her own food.

She also brought other different things, and left her teacher enough to enjoy until her next visit. Today, it was apples and tea – refreshing, delicious tea, tasting like nectar to him in this place –, but she had already brought him pineapple, bananas, and crackers, as well as newspapers, books, and writing stuff. Toshinori did not like to write per se, but he sometimes had ideas for his classes or details he wanted to remember about various things, so he appreciated having a pen and paper at all times. The books were entertaining, and the papers helped him keep tabs on what happened in the world, even if he had television and an internet connection. When reading a paper, time passed more quickly, it seemed.

Back to the conversation, he shook his head.

"Thank you, but no. I wouldn't want to steal your food."

Philae made a face between a frown and a pout, but she nodded and bit into her pan, sighing in happiness. She did love that stuff. Her bliss never ceased to amuse her teacher, and he smiled fondly. They ate and drank in comfortable silence for a few minutes. They had discovered they did not always need to talk, simply enjoying each other's presence, and it was appeasing to both of them.

After a while, Toshinori finished his tea and spoke again.

"Hopefully, Aizawa won't have to be all grumpy with you for long. My doctor told me I'll be discharged tomorrow, if the last results of my blood tests come in time."

At this, Philae's face glowed with a beaming, toothy smile.

"Really?"

The blonde could not resist offering a grin of his own and nodded.

"Yes. I'm relieved to finally leave this place. I've never been fond of hospitals."

"Neither do I," she replied, her smile a shade more bitter, "though it's been better with time. At first, I couldn't even let any man in white come near me. I was a wild beast ready to bite off limbs. Needles still make me shudder."

"So that makes two of us," Toshinori tried to sound casual, "I've seen enough doctors for the rest of my life."

"I bet. Does Izuku know about this?"

She supposed the green-haired teen would be the first to be informed. The former hero, to her surprise, slapped his forehead with a groan.

"Darn, I forgot! I didn't want to disturb him as he worked, but then..."

Then he had gotten impatient with seeing Philae. And he had momentarily forgotten Izuku. Stupid! He had promised his young heir he would tell him when he got news, but he had not. Philae cleared her throat to have his attention back.

"It's still early in the afternoon, maybe you'll be able to send him a text in a few. He finishes at five, unless he gets held back, doesn't he?"

Toshinori glanced at his phone. Four o'clock. She was correct, he was not late. _I still have time. Damn, am I acting silly!_

"You're right," he admitted, relieved, "I'm always feeling like time drags by here, and paradoxically, I get to lose track of it easilly. I'll text him at five, then. Oh, and Tsukauchi, too."

At that, Philae noticed once again that her teacher was very familiar with the inspector, going so far as calling him by his surname. And retrospectively, she remembered how the policeman had talked about All Might, threatening her of making her pay if she harmed the former hero. She wanted to know.

"You're very good friends with Detective Naomasa," she said, curious.

If Toshinori were taken aback, he did not show it. Instead, he smiled gently.

"That I am. We've known each other for a very long time."

She felt more embarrassed than ever.

"I'm sor-"

"Don't," he cut her off, guessing where she was going and not wanting to hear any more apologies from her, "you don't have to feel guilty of anything. My friendship with Tsukauchi has nothing to do with the way he interrogated you, or with the fact that he's appointed two men to protect you. He's only applying standard procedures, not indulging old me."

And he was not lying. Tsukauchi could not possibly take two capable officers out of duty just for his own peace of mind. It was not only forbidden by his hierarchy, but he was also too strict to do such a thing. It did not mean Toshinori was not glad to know he had, though. Knowing Philae was as safe as she could be relieved him immensely, even if he could not wait to go back to work with her soon.

"You're not old, All Might," she commented absently, out of habit. "In fact, technically speaking, I think I'm older than you."

This made him laugh. Age was something relative to both of them, with her being too young and him looking too old.

"Depends," he argued. "I may only be in my forties plus, but I'm feeling a thousand years old."

 _And I look like I am_ , he thought. His body seemed ready to collapse and turn into dust, with his long bony limbs and paper thin muscles. Who could believe he was no older than thirty-five?

Philae did. Then again, she was a teen born nearly a century ago, preserved in a coma of sorts. That was what Tsukauchi had told him, and it was impossible she could have lied, or else the detective's lie-guessing Quirk would have sensed it right away. She was truly a wonder.

To prove his point, the blonde raised an arm and flexed it, pointing at where his biceps should be.

"My mind may tell me I'm not that old, but my body reminds me everyday that I look like a bony granny. And sometimes, I agree with the latter. Not very attractive, am I?"

Philae tilted her head in thought. True, this was a huge difference compared to the glossy pictures she had seen of All Might in his hero form, all beefy and impressive and powerful. Izuku had leant her his notes about his idol, and she had learnt the man had weighted around five hundred and sixty-two pounds in his best times! Hardly believable when you looked at him now. Yet, she did not agree with him.

"You know," she replied at last, "I don't think that kind of details matter too much." She shrugged and explained, "My father was a real nerd, all brains and no flesh on his bones. He could not lift more than a few pounds, and he was helpless at anything involving physical work. He also had the complete, stereotypical nerdy attire: slender limbs, big round glasses, and unkempt clothes. In appearance, he was nothing impressive, but his heart was golden, and his knowledge was so wide that he could fill a small galaxy with everything he had in his head. My mother was his opposite: she was athletic, feminine and gracious, a little defiant, and she sometimes had difficulties following my father's train of thoughts, even if she was very intelligent herself. Nevertheless, they were deeply in love, and I always saw them happy together."

Toshinori was stunned into silence. That was the first time he heard her talk about her parents in details, other than the fact that they were dead. He imagined a scrawny, bushy brunet buried in books, and a bright-eyed lady in rich, frilly underskirts and silky bustier dresses, and he wondered at their getting together at all. Yet they did, for they had produced two children together. The former hero was curious to know who had transmitted the power to their children.

"My mother." Philae surprised him with her answer. He must have asked out loud without knowing. "She descended from a long dynasty of ancient blood, going as far as the first Hellenic tribes. Dad was a non-magical man born in America, and he travelled to the Old Continent to unveil great archaeological mysteries. She fascinated him, and he made her melt with his clumsiness and adorableness. It was not love at first sight, but when they fell for each other, they never parted again."

A smile formed on her lips, as her memories came back to her. Those were times she held dear, undying moments of family love and comfort. Her link purred, and her eyes shone with a warm, tender light. Toshinori watched her, enraptured, until she snapped back into focus and riveted her glinting chocolate orbs on him. He straightened, worried she might have caught him staring and misinterpreted it.

"So that's why you shouldn't worry about your body too much, All Might. I may be biased because of my raising, but I don't find you unattractive because of your being skinny. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. Sexiness does not always lie in muscles, you know." She pointed at her left breast. "It's mostly in here." Then she pointed at her temple. "And it's in here. For those two, you're quite blessed. Please don't change the way you are."

Toshinori's cheeks flared, and a coughing fit seized him out of embarrassment. He was mortified. He had been taken completely unaware, not expecting someone so young and, well, pretty, to try and comfort him on his physique, almost complimenting him.

Philae hurried to find tissues when she saw blood trickle down from his mouth. She reached out tentatively, touching his arm slightly. He calmed down a little, his face fifty shades of red, and she took his hand away to wipe out the crimson droplets running down his chin. She acted extra carefully, not knowing if her teacher was in pain or not. When it appeared he was not, she dabbed a little more quickly. A hand eventually caught her wrist, and her gaze found All Might's, who was still red.

"I can do it," he tried to stop her, "I'm used to these."

"I-I don't mind," she stuttered.

"I do." When he saw her crestfallen face, he immediately continued, "I'm really touched by your concern, but you needn't worry about me. This happens quite often and I'm hardly bothered anymore. Except for the ruined shirts, obviously." When her expression did not change, he added with a shaky smile, "I appreciate your help, but I'm ashamed you see me like this. It's troublesome, and I'm feeling quite the dork."

"Oh." Now she got it and stepped back, giving him the tissue and sitting back into her chair. "I didn't realise..."

"That's alright, I'm okay, see?" He finished wiping his mouth and showed her his now clean face, swallowing back the rest of the blood in his mouth. "All good."

Philae was not convinced, but she nodded nonetheless. Satisfied, Toshinori went back to topic.

"Pardon my question, but what was your mother's Quir- power? If she's the one to have passed it down to you and your brother, I'm curious about her. Not that your father sound any less interesting, mind me!"

Her features softened.

"I understand," she answered. Her eyes got clouded, as she gathered her memories into a comprehensible answer. "Before she married my father, her heart lay with the peoples of the sea. She liked to tell us she could call forth mermen and selkies, and share their strengths and powers. However, she never used their deceitful power of attraction, for she thought it unfair and dishonest. 'Merpeople are selfish creatures', she used to say, 'and they cannot stand a love purer than that they offer'. Her link shut down when she tied her life to my father's because of that. She still had her lovely voice, though. She sang the best lullabies, and she knew all the ballads, in all languages known and unknown to man."

"Did you inherit her talent?"

"By the gods, no!," she laughed sheepishly, "I'm a lot less talented than she. Compared to her, I croak like an asthmatic cuckoo. She had a voice only angels could imitate."

That must have been a grand thing to hear. Toshinori's interest was at its highest.

"What was your favourite song?," he asked next.

"Huh."

Philae needed some time to find the answer. Her memories of that time were quite clear, but she had to focus hard to pick up the exact lines of the ballad she always asked before bed.

When the lines came back, they aligned neatly in her mind, along with the air she knew by heart. She nearly hummed it, but she stopped herself before the notes escaped her.

" _Ar Draws y Cae_ ," she answered instead, pronouncing the syllables with some difficulty. It had been a long time since she had used that tongue.

"I don't think I know it," Toshinori regretted. "Is it even English?"

"Welsh, actually. It means 'Across the Field'."

"Would you mind... I mean, I'm not going to judge your performance, I hardly produce decent notes myself, but, you know, I'd like to hear what it sounds like."

She hesitated a fraction of a second. "Please?," he added.

She sighed, nodding slowly.

"Okay. Just don't complain if your ears bleed," she added playfully.

Internally, she was close to a panic attack. Could she manage, really?

When she saw All Might's happy smile, however, and his blue eyes alight with curiosity, she could not go back on her words. Defeated, she cleared her throat, produced some tentative notes to warm up, then took in a long breath. Suddenly, her link hummed and an impulsion spurred her to dive. Her voice echoed in the room before she could realise she was singing.

 **Yn olygfa'n glir, tyndra yn yr air**

The scene is set, tension in the air

 **Teimladau'n gryf, llid yn ei gwaed**

Emotions run high, anger in the blood

 **Llu o flywr yn paratoi**

An army of soldiers, preparing

 **Yn llawn o hyder i ennill y dydd**

Full of confidence to win the day

 **Llwythau yn rhedeg ar draws y cae**

Tribes running across the field

 **Ei arfau'n pointio at ei gelyn**

Weapons pointing to the enemy

 **Llwythau yn rhedeg ar draws y cae**

Tribes running across the field

 **Yn barod i ymladd am ei rhyddid**

Ready to fight for freedom

The song unfurled like an old film reel going in slow motion, bearing the sounds of battle cries, the thundering hooves of war horses, the clattering of spears and swords on shields, and the hearts of hundreds of warriors fighting for what they held dearest. It escaped from Philae's parted lips and soared into the air, getting a life of its own. The young woman's form glowed from the inside, as if the song gave her its essence, or she gave it hers. Fire danced in her pupils, and her skin gleamed with geometrical forms looking like translucent scales. Toshinori was transfixed. Before his eyes, scenes unrolled and disappeared like fleeting memories of another time, and he was a spectator of both this and his student's energy surge.

True, she did not have an exceptional voice. It was correct, but hardly comparable to that of a mermaid, or so he thought. But what impressed him was the power it elicited in her, like a spark turning into a bonfire in an instant. It echoed in his own mind, with the fighting spirit he had kept down since he had given up his career as a hero. He felt... rejuvenated.

When the song ended, Philae blinked a few times, unsure of what happened. She was at peace with herself and the world. Her link was pulsating pleasantly, and she could feel a beat at the other end. But when she reached out, it stopped, and everything was calm again. She then felt the weight of tiredness fall on her shoulders.

All Might's gaze bore into hers. He stared intently, though he looked lost in his own thoughts. After a few moments, he blinked rapidly and sent her a quizzical look.

"I don't know what happened," she pouted, "but it has to do to my link. I'm feeling more tired than before. Guess it's a part of my magic I didn't know about, for I'm not sure it was I who sang all the way. This makes another thing to ask Infuriae next time I summon him."

Technically, it could not be a new power, for the song had only an effect on her, and maybe it impacted All Might a little because he was close. However, it felt more like a reminiscence, than a real illusion or a tangible spell. It calmed her, nothing more, like the times when his father told her and Kai a story, and their mother sang to lull them to sleep.

"You're planning on doing this soon?," All Might asked, snapping her out of her reflection.

"I think so," she replied, finally understanding he was talking about her summon. "I planned on doing this tomorrow or the day after with Professor Aizawa, but I guess you'll be there. He seemed to like you, last time, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Like me?" He blinked owlishly at her. "If you say so."

"Believe, if he didn't, you wouldn't be here to tell."

"Right."

A pause, then, "I didn't understand a single word you said, but it was nice. Thank you for sharing your memories with me."

Philae blinked, blushing a little.

"My pleasure," she managed to say, "I was happy to share things with you. I hope I wasn't to boring."

"Not at all! Learning new things is wonderful, especially when they concern my students or my friends. My life looks dreadfully common, compared to yours."

"You're not saying this seriously, All Might! You're the number one hero, 'course your life's not common."

"I was."

"You _are_ ," she deadpanned stubbornly.

Why was it so important for her that she got her point across on this? The blonde sighed, knowing he would not win this. Instead he gave up for now and smiled.

"Anyway, I'm glad you still open to me on your past."

It helped him cope with the darker parts, those he regretted had happened at all. Philae looked down briefly, then back at him, a sad smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She might have sensed what he was thinking, as she replied, "I think we both need it. Thank you for listening."

"Anytime."

"Now." Her smile turned into a lopsided grin. "If you told me about why you chose banana coloured boots? I understand you chose colours according to your American hero persona, but yellow? You're already blonde!"

A heated discussion about fashion faux-pas and hero costumes ensued, during which jabs and barbs were fired. American-Japanese perception clashed with American-bred opinions, but in the end, All Might managed to turn the tables and redirect the discussion. He pointed at flaws he saw in Philae's costume drafts, resulting in a full redrawing of the design for Lady Dragon.

He would make his student a rightful, blazing hero. And it would begin with a blindingly splendid costume. He counted on one hand the times he had had so much fun lately, and he enjoyed every minute of it. That time, the clock ran at full speed.

He could not wait for the following day.

* * *

 **Heya!**

 **I hope this chapter was not too boring T_T I'm trying to develop Toshi's and Philae's relationship, but I don't want it to become a student/teacher relationship with underage smut, and I certainly don't want it to be like 'poof, I love you, let's make out!' XD**

 **As for the song and the lyrics, all credits go to Ceredwen. You can find the song, lyrics, and translation, on Youtube.**  
 **I chose a Welsh song because I love those, and also because Gaelic and Celtic tribes bear a lot of mysteries and legends, which was perfect for Philae's mother.**

 **And I'll repeat myself, but it's not a new power (Philae had too many to deal with already). Explanations might come in the next chapter XD**


	15. Chapter 14

**Oh my gosh, have I taken so long to update? :o**

 **So sorry for the delay " I have too much work and I don't have as much time as I'd like to write...**

 **I'll make some adjustments and corrections to the previous chapters, particularly regarding Toshi's age, typos, and various mistakes I noticed.**

 **Enjoy! ^^**

* * *

CHAPTER 14 – You know nothing... or do you?

Crawford Hall was eerily silent, save for the constant pitter patter of rain against the windows. House servants were skittering about quietly, striding up and down the corridors like floating ghosts in a haunted castle.

And haunted, it was. Just not by your usual spirit.

In one of the many en-suites of the manor, a single occupant was staring gloomily at the sad scenery in front of him. The grey skies reflected his own state of mind, with the addition of brewing thunder as his thoughts went wild with worry and guilt. His pale face looked paralysed in an eternal sneer. He was sitting on the edge of his chair, gripping the armrests so hard that his knuckles were white and his hands trembling. His red eyes glared at an invisible point far beyond the dull horizon.

Philae had been gone for a good week now. She had vaporized into nothingness, her drawers and closet still packed with her belongings. They had found no note, and no ransom had been demanded. Nothing indicated an intent of sorts, yet Kai had an inkling as to why she did this to them, and it was driving him mad.

"You're upset."

 _Understatement of the century_ , Kai sarcastically thought, although he did not say it out loud. His bite did not affect the man that had come into his room uninvited. Ryuushin Ame was one to respect only his own standards of privacy and decency, and nothing the convalescent man could say would deter him from coming in and meddling. Since Phi's disappearance, Ame had been shadowing him, staying close by everywhere he went, including the times when he was sleeping in his own bed. It was a miracle he still had some space when he went to the bathroom, but for how long? It was apparently believed that if not correctly watched, he would soon vanish like his sister. In this state of sickness. What a joke...

He turned around and glanced the man over briefly. His 'bodyguard' was tall, maybe taller than he by a good few inches, though he did not stand close enough to compare. In his twenties, he already looked older than he, ironically enough. He had a lean figure and an angular face, framed by meticulously stylised charcoal hair. His sharp blue eyes shone in the dim light, unwavering, their colour like the surface of the arctic ocean. He hardly showed emotion at all, and yet he was outrageously perceptive. His genius was all the more useful in the business world.

Being Crawford's protégé, Ryuushin had his own quarters in the mansion, and his room was located directly next to Kai's. He had decided to transfer this protective – stalking – attitude from Phi to Kai, and of course Crawford had blessed him to do so. The siblings' stepfather never said no to his young prodigy, and he most certainly planned his and Philae's union to secure him in the Crawford dynasty. The young woman might not realise it fully yet, as she must have thought her guardian was just being his extravagant self, and that it was a stunt pulled by a spoiled overgrown child. It did not seem to bother Ryuushin either, and he even played his part in pursuing her – albeit very clumsily –, probably because it repelled most of his suitors. Kai liked to make fun of this with his sister.

Without her around, the house felt even more empty, save from Ame's towering presence. He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Tell me why I shouldn't be."

 _My sister is off to an unknown place while I'm stuck in a cold, lonely mansion, with a stoic man tailing me non stop unless I take a piss, and a mad caretaker blabbering about flowers and weddings and grandchildren of said stoic man and sister, when she's not here to punch him in the gut. Really, what would I need to be upset about?_

Ame did not answer for a moment. He strode forward, coming to his side and facing the window. The rain had doubled outside.

"She's doing this for you."

Anger flared in Kai. He knew the other knew things he should not. Had always known. And right now, it was adding coal to his fire. He sent him a heated, pointed glare.

"Really, here I thought she was fed up with your prissy attitude and needed a vacation. Can't say I'd blame her."

A sigh.

"I'm worried, too. Philae has a particular talent to have death at her heels."

Kai snarled.

"Don't you dare. You know nothing."

Yet he knew it was not true. Ryuushin knew what had happened. He knew about them. Kai's fury did not move him in the slightest, and he blinked lazily at nothing in particular while thinking.

"I didn't say death was after her. Just that it's following her. She got involved with powerful beings, for you."

The guilt returned full force, but Kai ignored it. He bolted upright to try and grasp Ryuushin, to get to equal grounds with him, rather than being in his inferior sitting position. He wanted to get answers. He wanted to vent. He wanted...

He immediately regretted it. A wave of dizziness hit him, and his head spun. His knees buckled, he swayed on his feet and fell backwards, and he would have knocked himself out against the chair's wooden back, if not for the pair of hands that caught his shoulders and prevented him from doing so.

"How many times did I tell you not to be so rash."

A million, probably. Those recommendations fell into deaf ears anyway. Kai knew full well what he could do and what he could not, thank you very much. The large amount of pills he had to swallow three times a day said it all, and he could feel his insides churning and trying to shred themselves, every time he opened his eyes in the morning. It did not stop him from trying to ignore what his sick body dictated. Will could overcome everything, could it not.

… He was getting delusional here. But he still did not care.

Ryuushin helped him sit down again, much to his embarrassment. Must he be assisted for everything. Soon he _would_ be accompanied to the loo, just to make sure he would not pass out on it like a wuss. He hated himself, sometimes. Hated the way his body betrayed him.

Nevertheless, it did not justify Philae going away from him only the gods knew where, for his sake. He wanted her to have a normal life, or at least a life to enjoy, not kill herself trying to save him. He was not salvageable. Better accept it and enjoy what he could until the end.

If only he was not that weak.

Once the dizziness stopped, he stared into Ame's impossibly blue eyes. Some tinge of worry pierced the icy surface. It could have been passed for pity, had Kai not known that the man did not show any, ever. For this, at least, he was grateful.

Light-headed, he gripped the other's arm.

"Where is she?," he rasped. "Where to?"

There. Worry was visible, if only slightly.

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

 _Well, it was worth a try._ He slumped back into his chair, his anger now dissipated, leaving only anguish. He knew Philae felt responsible for his state, and wanted to find a solution. He knew it was because she loved him, and he was glad he had her. But now she was away, out of his reach, where he could not protect her.

She was very clever, but still so young. She hoped in his healing, while he had given up a long time ago. He felt selfish for thinking so, but he loved his sister, and his love was selfish in that he would rather die than burden her with him. If she were to live her life, even without him, then all the better.

The hands on his shoulders gave a light squeeze.

"She'll come back. She's a smart girl, like you."

He must have looked utterly miserable, if Ryuushin tried to comfort him. A grim smile lifted the corners of Kai's lips.

"She better be."

In the meantime, he would be trapped with this stoic man, and a mad stepfather. _Let her come back soon, when I'm still alive to give her an earful_ , he silently prayed.

* * *

"If ye're trying ta impress, ye failed."

They had forgotten how imposing Infuriae really was. This time summoned in the open, the wyvern could unfurl his scaly body to its fullest, and he was no small lizard. From afar, he looked like a monstrous bear, with a long tail. And smoking nostrils. And huge wings.

Aizawa calculated the approximate size of the creature, and the distance he needed to maintain if he even went berserk. The nearest tree would be fine. Yes, and its shade could be nice. Keeping an eye open, the tired teacher headed to his own little haven, until the three others finished their business. He would be informed of the interesting stuff later anyway. Anubis trotted over to him, hesitant as to how welcome he would be, but when he got no reaction he simply laid down and got comfortable.

Meanwhile, Philae was pouting. All Might was finally out of the hospital, and she had wanted to call for Infuriae to ask him a few questions about the link, as well as show him the new design of her suit she and her teacher created. She was very proud of it.

The suit in itself was made out of a stretchy, highly resistant material that would allow her to grow a tail, wings, or horns, and turn back to normal without tearing and exposing her body parts. Nanotechnology could even have the fabric mending itself back together, in case the resistance got overcome in a very harsh battle. They had chosen a vibrant red colour for her top and trousers, which would hug her form nicely and free her movements, like a second skin. Over this, they had selected a pair of heeled grey boots, a silver breast plate with measuring softwares to try and keep tabs on her physical condition, fingerless grey leather gloves that went up to her elbows, and an alloy silver belt on which she could hang pockets with gadget and stuff she thought she might need. To protect her identity, instead of a mask, she had preferred a face painting with intricate swirls and forms, like those of Celtic tribes, in red and golden tints that would enhance her eyes and her draconic features if she showed any.

They had inspired from the look an Amazoness would have, wild and imposing, giving an air of confidence and power. Hidden acupuncture pressure points were added in the lining of the suit, to reduce stress and help her focus. The belt buckle had extra weight to keep her grounded and give her a point to concentrate on, as it was close to where she felt her link with the dragons.

To Philae, the suit was not too complicated, and at the same time flashy enough for a heroic figure. And as All Might had helped her create it, it could not be anything other than perfect.

Infuriae thought otherwise, though, and his reaction disappointed her immensely.

"What's the problem with it? It's perfect!," she argued irritably.

The wyvern shook his enormous head.

"Nah, it's cute, but it looks like a Barbie outfit. Ya'd look like a doll in it, 'tis no good."

A Barbie outfit? She puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Being given fashion statements from a _wyvern_ did not sound like good advice, and the criticism stung.

"Oh yeah? What would you suggest, then?"

Puffs of smoke went out as he huffed.

"Ya wanna be called 'Dragon Lady', without anythin' close as gold on ya. 'Tis won't do at all. No lady looks like one without gold on 'er."

Toshinori, who had stood silent examining the creature, stepped forward, his brow creased in disbelief.

"Gold does not add to the suit, and it's quite flimsy. It won't protect Philae in battle."

She nodded in agreement.

"Yes. I can see why you suggest it, but it's costly and useless in this case. And red and gold are too blingy."

Infuriae snorted.

"Am not sayin' ya need to be bathed in gold, though it'd be cool. Am sayin' it's essential you wear some gold. A dragon lady wears gold. Not only will it be stylish as hell, but ya'll really appear womanly. Not a doll, but a woman. There a difference 'ere."

Philae rolled her eyes, while Toshinori remained puzzled.

"So, dragons really do care about gold? It's not just a myth."

Both creature and girl looked back at him.

"We like gold for wha' it is," the wyvern informed him, "stylish an' pricy. We could smell it anywhere, 'specially if it's marked. If me lady had gold on her, I could find 'er in a ten mile radius, wit' me eyes closed. Easy."

"This could be useful in case I lose you in the heat of battle, although you're hard to lose," Philae admitted, "but it's still flimsy and costly."

"Could an alloy looking like gold work?," the blonde suggested.

He nearly leapt back when Infuriae growled.

"Ya'll never deceive us wit' cheap crap. 'Tis gold or nothin'. Or jewels. Rubies resonate nicely, an' you can enchant 'em."

"Still expensive, and I don't want to look like a jewellery store window."

"Fine, den just gold."

"No."

They stared at each other hard, engaging in a battle of wills. Toshinori scratched his neck in amusement.

"Why not," he announced at last. "Would a small quantity of gold, say, in the belt buckle, and the rest in golden alloy, be acceptable?"

Philae sent him a dubious glance, but Infuriae's cat-like eyes lit up with satisfaction.

"Da more da better, but just a little is enough, if yarr penny-pinching. Could still be recognisable from miles."

"I can't afford that," his student argued bashfully.

"But the school can," All Might assured her. "It's part of your Quirk adaptation needs. If your dragons need gold to consider you worth their help, then gold you should have, provided you don't need too much. It'll be paid for easily. And then, we can inject some golden hue into the silver parts of your suit, and balance things nicely. I agree it would be quite catchy."

"Finally someone to know deir stuff! Listen to yarr cotton buddy, milady, he's quite da connoisseur."

"Infuriae."

"You prefer toothpick?"

"No. First, he's my _teacher_ , and second, he's not _mine_. Would you mind some respect?"

"You said 'e was your teacher, so he's yours in a way. Plus, ye have te admit 'e looks like a cotton bud. Thin an' fluffy."

"No."

"Yes."

"Anyway," Toshinori placated, his embarrassment menacing to burst, "it's possible to achieve such a thing. Other than that, would there need to be anything you'd see that needed to be changed?"

Infuriae accepted the change of subject without missing a beat.

"Jewels would still be good. Da more, da better, but 'tis not compulsory. Only better. There lacks a necklace 'round me lady's neck."

"I'm afraid that much luxury would be off limits. However, an alloy necklace with transmitters and intercom in it, and maybe a semi-precious gem for your tastes, could be made. It's true that an adornment could do no harm."

The wyvern huffed.

"Now ye speaking sense."

"What do you think, Philae?," All Might turned to her, smiling as he always did.

She pondered for a moment, begrudgingly agreeing with them. She was not much into trinkets, but this could look nice on her. And she knew dragons coveted those shiny things. She just had not wanted to rob the bank, but if All Might said some were acceptable...

"Okay," she nodded.

"Knew yarr cotton buddy teacher could do ye good!," Infuriae approved in a throaty, rumbling laugh. Suddenly sobering, he added as an afterthought, "Now dat's done, what else ye wanted? Surely ye don't just want fashion advice."

He was blunt, Toshinori had to give him that. And smart. The wyvern turned to him.

"I sensed the debacle wit' me lady. Think every other dragon did. Ye must be worried after da little girl's panic fit." He glanced Aizawa from the corner of his eyes. "Though I can't say it was uncalled for. Dryas only bit 'im good ta defend 'er exit. Defense mechanisms can't be helped."

"Girl?," Philae piped in. "So Dryas is a she? How do you know?"

"I just do. 'Ave seen more younglings than I could recall. I know she's a she."

"Do you think she could have sensed the link weaken?," the former hero continued. "Did she... did she let it weaken on purpose?"

It sounded stupid, but he had to check. Infuriae shook his head.

"Nah, she's too young for dat. Ye need ta focus to sense da link properly. She could sense it close down alright, hence 'er going nuts for fear dat she got trapped in dis world. 'Tis basic survival instinct. But she's too inexperienced te feel it continuously. 'Tis just too hard for younglings."

"How could she feel me, back then?"

"When ye met, ye mean? 'Tis how it is, for us. Da link comes alive wit' primary emotions, dat travel to us and make us aware of ye. Yarr sorrow was very powerful, very raw, like an open wound in our side. Dryas felt it dat way an' wanted ta help, so she pulled, and ye accepted 'er help. She answers when ye call, but she won't impose 'erself like we do."

"So it was fully unintentional."

"Dat's what I said. She likes ye, milady, an' she's feeling ashamed right now. Won't answer da link for a while, but it'll pass. She needs to mature."

They nodded.

"And you?," Toshinori pressed on, "could you sense the link and, say, make sure you'd go away before it consumed Philae completely?"

"'Course I could, though it's never really happened. No need to worry, me bud, yarr little lady won't know another stupid thing like wit' Dryas. We're no killers of our ladies."

He wanted to dwell on the change of possessive adjective as regards Philae, for it was impossible to be insignificant, but the young woman had a more pressing matter.

"Not even Heliosade?," she wanted to know.

The wyvern went silent for a second. When he spoke again, he was more cautious than ever.

"Heliosade's a hard guy to go 'round. I think he doesn't want to harm you, milady, but I'm never too sure with him. It's dishonourable for us to act like scoundrels with a summoner who contracted us, though, and if he's a dragon true to his heart, he'll always respect that ancient law. That's all I can say."

His speaking proper English worried both Toshinori and Philae. Infuriae was visibly weary of the dragon king. With reason, undoubtedly.

"I see. We'll have to make do with this," All Might muttered. "Would you mind if we test and train Philae with you on the other end of the link?"

"Milady?"

"He means that I call for you more often for training, as you're the safest and easiest of my dragons to work with. Like when I faced the villains last time, more or less."

"Aye, dat's what am here for. I've known you since you were in diapers."

"I've not contracted you before I was six."

"Six is but a tiny number."

"I didn't have diapers anymore."

"Figure o' speech."

"You say."

Toshinori chuckled at the two. It was obvious the creature was very fond of his little human lady, and the feeling was mutual. It was cute to watch them argue.

Suddenly a harsh "HEY YOU!" resounded across the field, and a blond-haired, furious teen appeared from the other side of the tracking field, making a bee line for Infuriae. The wyvern eyed him and produced a chuckle-like gurgle sound.

"Oh, goodie. Bombing dude's on the hunt."

Bakugou yelled again, "Hey! Come 'ere, you scaly freak! I'm gonna bash your skull big time!"

Philae looked up warily at the beast.

"Do you want to do something?"

"I can sit on 'is face, but otherwise, nah, think I'll pass. You've kept me here long enough. Better be going."

He was right. Without checking, she could feel her stamina burning quickly, although it was not consumed as rapidly as last time. Infuriae made a tutting sound, his fangs snapping around air.

"If he disrespect ya again, call me for a rematch. I'll flatten 'im good."

She nodded and breathed deeply, trying to ignore the approaching stomping rushing their way. Concentrating on her link, she willed the line between the worlds to tear open. The warp appeared, and the wyvern lost no time in getting through. His head pointed out once the rest of his body had gone to the other side, and Bakugou reached them in a ball of nerves and spitfire, his palms crackling.

"Where'd you think you're fleeing to? Get back and fight, you coward!"

Infuriae growled low and lowered his head, so that his snout faced the teen. Philae felt her body tingle with the strain of magic. Whatever the creature wanted to do, he had to do it quickly.

Toshinori remained close by, ready to tackle young Bakugou out of the way should anything happen. No matter the species, insulting someone of cowardice never promised to end well. Noticing Aizawa in the corner of his eyes, he knew his colleague had decided the same and stayed on high alert.

The wyvern stared down at the furious boy for a split second, frozen in mid-air, before he blew a massive cloud of smoke into his face. Coughing and sputtering, Katsuki fired a string of insults, while his adversary raised his head and pulled back through the portal.

"Sorry kiddo, too much sexual tension 'ere. Next time I'll take y'on."

He disappeared with the portal, and Philae released a breath she did not know she was holding. Both teachers sighed, but Bakugou was bursting with outrage. Turning sharply to the young woman, he closed the distance between them and glowered at her, his red orbs glinting with barely contained wrath.

She gasped at the sudden movement and wanted to back away from the walking bomb in front of her. He caught her by the elbow, gripping it so hard that it would bruise the following morning.

"You," he spat, "you dumb-"

"Bakugou, my boy," Toshinori tried to placate him, "calm down, please."

Said boy stiffened when hearing All Might, as if he just realised the teacher was here. He worked his jaw, mulling over the words. The former hero placed a firm hand on his student's shoulder, willing him to calm down.

"Please," he insisted.

The teen hmphed loudly, releasing Philae with a push and shaking the hand off his shoulder. She regained her balance before she fell, rubbing her sore limb.

"Fine," Bakugou snapped, "you owe me one. Don't ever think about chickening out next time."

He turned to go away, hands in his pockets, but he stopped when Aizawa's dark form blocked his path.

"Bakugou," the dark-haired teacher gruffed lowly to the teen, so that only he could hear, "next time you show that kind of behaviour in front of me, you'll wish I punished you to the lowest pit of hell. Understood?"

His threat was understood all right. Katsuki tched and went on, his head slightly bent.

"Whatever."

Only when he disappeared, did Philae realise that All Might had moved to her side, standing so close that she could feel his warmth.

He did not leave her until she got into her room safely. Standing in front of her door, he let out a small sigh.

"Bakugou sure knows how to hold a grudge," Philae tried to make it sound light, although she felt dreadful inside.

All Might chuckled.

"Sure he is, but he's got a good side, once you get to see it." After a short moment, he added, "And soon, you'll have your own gear to take him on, if you wish."

Right, the suit would be sent to the Support Department first thing the next morning, and she had not been feeling this excited since the day Kai had offered to take her to their favorite amusement park two years ago, when he was still in more or less good shape. She would soon be able to turn into Lady Dragon. She would just have to fit in her shoes.

The former hero must have thought the same thing, for he continued, "You'll need some more specific training, now that we know you can have Infuriae's support. I'll have to make a few calls, but I know a hero that could help you a great deal in exploring your draconic abilities. It'll lift some weight off Aizawa's shoulders, for which he'll be grateful. You'll still have physical training with old me, however."

Philae nodded, now in higher spirits.

"I don't want to get too far back on my studies, now do I. I'll bear with it."

He answered with his trademark smile.

"Good. Seven sharp tomorrow, then."

They exchanged their goodnights, and she flopped on her bed with a happy smile. Anubis leapt next to her, curling to her side with a sigh.

Bakugou be damned. In a few, she would take on his challenge and kick his butt. Infriae would have laughing material for centuries after.


	16. Sigma Chapter 1

**WARNING! Cold recollections of physical torture are to be found in this chapter.**

 **I tried to suggest rather than describe too crudely, taking a more or less 'scientific' stance, but read at your own discretion!**

* * *

 **SIGMA CHAPTER 1**

March 20th, 1988

My son,

I hope my letter will find you in good physical health. It has been a very long time since we last had any contact at all, and you must wonder the reason why your old bastard of a father comes to you at this time.

Firstly, I would like to offer you my sincerest condolences, although I suspect you will not accept them. Camellia was a delightful woman and a most distinguished lady, I heard, and I could never have approved more of your union. Such a tragedy tears at my heart, imagining what you must go through. Time alone can mend such wounds of the heart, and I pray for your getting better eventually.

Secondly, let me not equivocate, I have a favour to ask of you. Now, I can predict your first answer quite easily, and I can understand why you would think so. But hear me out, if you still have some humanity in you – I must confess I have very little left in me, myself, so I would not judge if you did not –.

It is hard to go around the fact that the experiments conducted at Unit 731 went terribly wrong, with its main test subjects on the loose and so many lives wasted for nothing. I will not ignore it any more, and I kindly ask of you not to ignore it either. I am partly responsible of everything that happened there, and I will bear the burden of my sins for all eternity. However, you, my son, can still do good on those that were wronged under my sponsorship.

The subjects are still alive, that much I am certain of. The girl might not be in a prime state, from what I understand, she might have been damaged in the scuffle she created, but she must have survived, and the boy will undoubtedly be with her. It should be possible for you to find them.

They are dangerous, yes, but they are still children. They deserve some place to live, and I recall you dreamed of having kids of your own. Unfortunate circumstances may have prevented you from that happiness for now, but fate is smiling at you, and I do not doubt those two extraordinary children would be nowhere better than with my extraordinary progeny.

Do not consider this a delusion created by a senile mind. I am not imagining things, and I am not playing with you. You have mastered the art of games better than I could ever do, anyway. I leave you the choice of realising such a folly, for I know you consider this as nothing more. This is an opportunity you might not encounter twice, and their powers are not to be disregarded either. The House of Crawford would benefit from them, as they would benefit from its influence. You, especially, would benefit from them. I just ask that you think about it.

You will find enclosed the files I had on them, as well as relevant information as regards their possible locations. Read them carefully, and you will see just what I am thinking of.

Rest assured that I think of you, always. I am proud of the man you have become, and I came with my best intentions towards you. I remain at your disposal should you need further details, but I do not count on your contacting me any more.

With my kindest regards,

Sagittari Crawford Jr

* * *

Testpersons Deckcode: Phönix / Code name of the test subject: Phoenix

Nachname: Paterson / Family name: Paterson

Vorname: Kai / Given name: Kai

Geschlecht: männlich / Gender: male

Geburtsdatum: 28. Dezember 1934 / Date of birth: December 28, 1934

Geburtsort: Paris, Frankreich / Place of birth: Paris, France

Vater: James Paterson, Amerikaner / Father: James Paterson, American

Mutter: Adria Léonora de l'Egide, Griechisch-Französisch / Mother: Adria Léonora de l'Egide, Greek-French

Haare: dunkelgrau / Hair: dark grey

Augen: rot / Eyes: red

Zauberkraft: Regeneration (Wiederbelebung?) / Magical power: regeneration (resurrection?)

Besonders: heilt sehr schnell, unverwüstlich / Particularities: heals really fast, resilient

Wird von dem Generalmajor Boris Schotten im verborgenen Forschungsfeld für das Okkult der japanischen Einheit 731 beaufsichtigt. / Will be put under the supervision of Generalmajor Boris Schotten in the Secret Scientific Cell for Research in the Occult of Unit 731, in Japan.

* * *

Testpersons Deckcode: Walkürie / Code name of the test subject: Valkyrie

Nachname: Paterson / Family name: Paterson

Vorname: Philae / Given name: Philae

Geschlecht: weiblich / Gender: female

Geburtsdatum: 3. April 1936 / Date of birth: April 3, 1936

Geburtsort: Orleans, Frankreich / Place of birth: Orleans, France

Vater: James Paterson, Amerikaner / Father: James Paterson, American

Mutter: Adria Léonora de l'Egide, Griechisch-Französisch / Mother: Adria Léonora de l'Egide, Greek-French

Haare: braun / Hair: brown

Augen: braun / Eyes: brown

Zauberkraft: unbekannt / Magical power: unknown

Besonders: robust, vom Gift und Feuer wenig angegriffen / Particularities: robust, little affected by poison and fire

Wird von dem Generalmajor Boris Schotten im verborgenen Forschungsfeld für das Okkult der japanischen Einheit 731 beaufsichtigt. / Will be put under the supervision of Generalmajor Boris Schotten in the Secret Scientific Cell for Research in the Occult of Unit 731, in Japan.

* * *

Dear Sir,

I come to you with the most dreadful update of all.

You may have heard of it from other sources, but I regret to inform you that Unit 731 has been discontinued, after all occupants had been massacred and an explosion had blown up most of the hidden labs. It is only thanks to my being away to get supplies, that I have survived. I have made sure, however, that my fortunate co-soldiers did not get the occasion to tell anything to anyone. I have taken dispositions to preserve our secrets, as per your instructions.

Japanese authorities have been dispatched to the site and begun an investigation as to why such a tragedy has happened, but I think you know what is the source of the 'accident'.

To this day, only a quarter of the prisoners' bodies have been found in the main unit. However, you must guess I have discreetly made my own research into the Cell for the Occult, and I can confirm that subjects Phoenix and Valkyrie have vanished. Their cells, although showing obvious signs of life for a continued amount of time, were devoid of bodies, as were the rest of the buildings – or what remained of them –. I have, nonetheless, discovered what I believe to be Generalmajor Schotten's mutilated and lifeless corpse in one of the 'interrogation rooms', and I have no doubts that he must have been with the subjects at the time of the incident. He was alone with a few soldiers, whose bodies I will refrain from describing.

Therefore, on the basis of my meticulous observations, as well as my experience at the service of Schotten, I can safely assure you that Phoenix and Valkyrie managed to escape Unit 731.

I will forward you every document I could salvage from Schotten's personal notes shortly. Everything else has been destroyed.

My infiltration mission is reaching its end, and I kindly ask for your permission to come back to you, unless you need me here for gathering further information.

With my most respectful regards,

A.

(from a encrypted message sent around 1944)

* * *

 **#1**

I, Boris Schotten, hereby confirm the reception of the sensitive test subjects respectively named 'Valkyrie' and 'Phoenix', in our base in Japan. They arrived in a stable condition and good health, and they will be ready for conditioning in a few days.

For the sake of our generous benefactor, my reports on the various experiments that will take place, will be written in English.

I am delighted to receive such a charge, and I will exceed the expectations awaited of the subjects entrusted to me by our most benevolent Führer.

GMBS

 **#5**

Valkyrie came about yesterday and is still disoriented. She has realised she is in a place she does not know, but sedatives have prevented her from having any panic attack until now. We must be careful with her, as she is believed to retain much more physical strength and harmful potential than her brother. My goal will be to condition her into the most magnificent soldier the world has ever seen. Her leadership will show our bravest patriots the bright path to Valhalla. Besides, if she becomes as beautiful as I believe she will, she will be a walking goddess of the superior race.

Phoenix gets agitated regularly, especially when meals are brought to him. His powers have not shown yet, but his worry for his sister is obvious, and it could be problematic if left as it is. Exploiting the subjects' bonds would be a way to go around their future resistances to conditioning. Together, they could form an unbeatable pair of warriors, and German glory would echo for millennia after.

I will introduce myself to Valkyrie soon. She needs to recognise her caretaker as quickly as possible, and my affirming authority over her is essential. She is still young, and she needs anchors in her new world of glory and blood.

GMBS

 **#42**

Phoenix is incredibly resistant to physical torture. His most significant trait is his capacity to heal at a speed no human should achieve. It has been calculated as follows, depending on the subject's condition:

– deep wounds caused by sharp knives and whip gashes: three to six hours, leave no trace (average humans take weeks at least to scar)

– acid burns: thirty minutes to one hour (average humans takes weeks)

– bruises: ten to twenty minutes (average humans take a few days)

– cracked ribs: one to two hours (average humans take a few weeks)

– broken bones: one to three days, depending on the bone's size and place (average humans take a few weeks)

Naturally, Phoenix heals faster when correctly nourished and cared for, while he will need much more time when famished and mentally abused. His cells show an amazing ability to regenerate themselves a dozen of times, before duplicating and dying. Thus, his ageing must be slowed down drastically, and further observations will have to prove that physically.

However, after each session, it has been observed that his wards progressively weaken and eventually fall ill. In some cases, they are not necessarily in direct contact with the subject for days and still experience this strange process. It is incurred that his powers have a sense of compensating for the energy needed to heal his body, though it has to be determined how such a happening is possible, and in what proportions it happens.

Valkyrie has yet to show any specific power. First experiments have shown that her body does resist fire quite well:

– there is no burns under 2000°F / 1093.33°C (equivalent to molten lava)

– first degree burns appear between 2000°F / 1093.33°C and 2192°F / 1200°C

– second degree burns appear between 2192°F / 1200°C and 3034.4 °F / 1668°C (melting point of titanium).

Higher temperatures have not been tested.

As for poisons, she feels close to nothing, depending on the species of snake or venomous animal at our disposal:

– snake venom has absolutely no effect (tested with cobra, rattlesnake, python)

– scorpion venom in consequent doses, causes light nausea for about two hours (tested with three times the lethal dose for an average grown man)

– puffer fish venom causes light-headedness and nausea for about three hours (tested with three times the lethal dose for an average grown man).

Following sessions will have to determine if her skin is harder or sturdier when hit with various weapons. I will have to be gentle, though. I do not want to damage this precious little girl. But if, one day, she can take a bombing without a scratch, she will be invincible. And priceless.

As a side note, my presence begins to influence her, she fears me. Good.

GMBS

 **#65**

Valkyrie shows character, despite her young age. It had already been noticed that both subjects look younger than they act, and it has been proven that while she looks five, she might be around six or seven in terms of maturity. Maybe it has to do with her seeing her parents die, though. A delayed physical ageing has been confirmed for both siblings nevertheless, but only observation will determine a what rate this phenomenon functions.

As regards Valkyrie's physical capacities, it has been concluded that her body sustain potential for a magical ability, that has to be awakened as soon as possible. I had the disappointment to see she is not sturdier than average when hit with weapons, and she heals at normal speed. Thus, her physical integrity must be preserved until we discover what her powers are. Given Phoenix's abilities, I have no doubt she will not disappoint again in the future. Mythical creatures have blessed those children, the game is to discover which.

On the brighter side, Valkyrie shows obedience so as not to get her brother punished (only three occurrences the past week), which is progress. Phoenix shows wonderful resilience and undergoes punishment without fighting back, which eases our job immensely. He may fear the same will happen to his sister if he ever does. It serves our interests for now, but I have to think of a way to maintain the bond in depths, and break some ties at the same time. They have to be able to work separately as well as together.

GMBS

 **#125**

Tests are more difficult. Valkyrie refuses psychotropic drugs and fights back more often, despite the repeated punishments endured by her brother. Breaking her mentally, though I do not think it most efficient, might be considered if she continues like this.

Phoenix is getting recluse and quieter. His wards have to shift every other day, as they all fall sick quickly. There is no more doubts that his powers draw energy from living beings around him.

– after a punishment, during which he received thirty whip lashes, he recovered in forty minutes, and the potted plant we had put into his room died in fifteen minutes.

– the next day, he received a hundred lashes, and a healthy prisoner from the medical testing section was put into his room instead of the plant; he recovered in fifty minutes, and the prisoner had difficulties to breathe and could not stand up.

– the third day, he received a hundred lashes, without any living thing near him. He recovered in an hour and twenty minutes, and his two wards waiting outside of the room felt awfully tired, without any change in their own living conditions.

Phoenix really is amazing. The possibilities offered by his magic could overthrow the fate of our fatherland. If Valkyrie is the sword, Phoenix is definitely the shield. A lethal kind of shield.

I would love to test out his regeneration ability further and further, but I cannot risk severing a limb or killing him. I am not a hundred per cent sure he can recover from those, and I do not want to damage him too much either.

GMBS

 **#288**

Things are getting nowhere. Phoenix does not react any more, except when with his sister, and Valkyrie gets torn between disobedience and fear for her brother's life. She bit me yesterday, quite forcefully at that. I guess she hates psychotropic drugs and wants to show her disagreement.

I have to resort to more artful ways. Their physical integrity must remain intact, but their minds have to be broken in the following days. I will stop at nothing to get them into our ranks.

I have dreamed of my perfect pair of warriors, and I will have it.

GMBS

* * *

December 17th, 1990

My sweet Camelia,

I continue writing letters, even though I know you will never receive them. It is silly, really, but it is the thought that counts, they say, and in any case, I cannot help it. You were, are, and will forever be my closest confident. My only friend in this sea of sharks.

I thought humans dull and tasteless. They are buzzing with life, and yet they waste it running around like headless turkeys, and they do not even see what they want to achieve. They are grey blotches of colour on a canvas I cannot make myself look at. I would have rather spent my remaining days as a recluse.

Yet here I am. When I received my father's letter, I was this close to rip it to shreds and throw it into the fire. This man does not deserve the air he breathes in, and there he was writing to his long forgotten disgrace of a son, to ask a favour. Could you imagine?

He blabbered listlessly about you, even though he has never seen you in person. It was for the better, in a sense, as I would have hated beheading him in front of you. His sight would get me nauseous in an instant, so I would have never dared appal you with his presence. I cannot express the deep hatred he ingrained in me, nor do I want to. He is as good as dead to me.

But you know me. Curiosity eventually got the upper hand over my distaste, and I gave in to it. What I read was too out of this world to make sense at first. You were not around when I discovered he had sponsored a series of experiments on Japanese citizens, in a hidden unit where the poor souls where relentlessly tested on for impossibles cures and gruesome biological weapons. This was the main reason why I had cut ties with him. I did not expect him to talk about it again, but he did, and he even suggested that the most important test subjects there were still alive somewhere. It has been forty-four years since they escaped, and yet they would still be, according to my father, children.

I did not know if I should laugh or call for a hearse. Sagittari was an old fool, but this reached new heights in terms of madness. Those who believe _I_ am mad, have certainly never encountered my father. He was delusional there, had to be.

I knew those two subjects were special cases. The occult was quite in vogue among the nazis, and they had taken a few people to such units just because they suspected magic in them. Still, this was too much to be credible. For a few months, I did not make anything about it. With the letter had come a stash of yellowed documents, but I refused to look at them for some time.

Then, curiosity once again won over my internal battles, and I decided I would verify the origin of those papers. I sent a sample to a graphological laboratory, and another to an expert in the nazis' appeal to the occult during the second world war.

The results were astonishing. Not only were the papers legit, but they were of the few traces that remained of Unit 731, particularly the hidden cell dedicated to the occult. Boris Schotten had really existed and died in the mysterious explosion of the site, in December 1944, and it had always been hypothesised that test subjects may have managed to escape.

Therefore, part of my father's story was true. So, I read the documents thoroughly and gathered data. By God, how awful were those reports. I wish to never read such things again. How could sentient beings do that to children? It was fortunate that you did not see them, my dear, for you would have felt yourself faint from horror. You are so sensitive...

I do not know how Sagittari managed to narrow down the places where the Paterson siblings could be found, but he was right. Maybe he had spent his retirement searching for them. In any case, they were indeed hidden away in a godforsaken part of Siberia.

I have just brought them back, and their sight will haunt me for a good while, perhaps as vividly as you do. Now, do not be offended, for you are quite a charming ghost. But as for them, they were dreadful, and I am glad they are still alive.

They were, truly, children in body. An eight-year-old boy, and a six-year-old girl. Around them, the land was dry, lifeless, and no animal could be found for miles around. They seemed to move regularly from place to place, and whereas nature could survive anywhere else, it did not around them. I believe it is due to the boy's power, from what I gathered in Schotten's notes.

The poor young lady was catatonic. Unmoving, barely breathing. Her skin was dangerously transparent, and only her cheeks sported a slight tinge of pink on them. As for the boy, he was standing unsteadily on his legs, but his eyes... his eyes were burning with a love I have seldom seen in humans. He loved his sister so much, that he could have killed us on the spot had we shown any sign of threat. He clung to her like his life depended on it. It probably did.

There was darkness, too. An abyss I can seldom believe was in the depths of a child's soul. Perhaps it is related to his dangerous magic. In any case, it did not seem to do him harm, and I had more pressing matters. I will have to look out for it in the future, though.

My sweetest pea, I have no words for what I saw, and I lack the will to describe everything to you, for you would be horrified. Those children had survived hardships that had killed many adults before them. They were to the brink of death, in a frozen land, forgotten by the world. And yet, they were still there, unwilling to give up on life. For someone like me, whose life tasted like ashes and regret, the glimmer of wonder rekindled. I had two treasures in front of me, two treasures you would have loved, undoubtedly.

I know you would have welcomed them with open arms and warm kisses. I think myself incapable of love, now that my heart resides forever with you, but I can welcome them into my home with as much grandeur. The dreary Halls of Crawford shall echo again with voices and life, and for once, just this once, I will abide to my father's wish. That old, disgraceful traitor would not have been able to do good to the children anyway.

I thought humans dull, tasteless and unworthy of my time. I would have rather spent my remaining days as a recluse. However, now, I am swarmed in paperwork and formalities I would have never thought I would have to take, like forging birth certificates. Do you imagine? I think you do, and you must be laughing. You crystal voice still echoes in my ears, sometimes.

I made a deal with the young gentleman, that day. I would make them dignified members of the House of Crawford, and give them a normal, happy life. In exchange, I would get heirs and redeem my name. We would deal with their wonders as they come. Their addition to my line would be one to make our prestige shine and sparkle for eons after.

You would have loved them. Kai is such a brilliant boy. He understands a lot of German and English, and he has solid notions of French and Greek. He learns with such speed, that his tutors fail to give him enough knowledge to end the week. And Philae... she is so cute, and she is bound to become a beautiful lady. Soon, I will have suitors pounding on my door for the privilege of seeing her. But rest assured that I will never sell our little rose to scoundrels. A Crawford always gets the best she can hope for. You would not have wanted it any other way, and neither would I.

I miss you, my dear. I was assured I would be given full rights over the siblings around the 26th. Quite an enchanting Christmas present it is, do you not agree? I miss you now, more than ever. I am parenting two wonderful treasures of ancient blood, and you are not here to marvel with me at how lucky we are. Your laugh gave colour to the world, and your smile chased away the storms. Perhaps our little girl will do the same, one day, and the man that will be lucky enough to be offered such unearthly gifts, will be the happiest alive. You will be proud, I promise.

And, who knows, maybe one day, you will be back to me. Maybe I can dream of you coming knocking on the door, with your straw hat and pencils and drawing pad, as if you just returned from a trip into the park in search for a good inspirational spot.

I love you, always.

Your Orion.

* * *

 **Hello all! :)**

 **I've decided to write this chapter as a bonus chapter (hence the title 'Sigma Chapter'), to go a little deeper into background and characters without necessarily including them into the main story line.**

 **I still have adjustments to make in the previous chapters, bear with me!**

 **Hope you liked it!**


	17. Chapter 15

**Oh. My. God.**

 **It's been an eternity since I last updated this fic. A million apologies to you all *cries***  
 **Life happens, and I had a small writer block (very small...).**  
 **But now it's back on track, and I've written way more than usual, so I hope you won't be mad ^^**

 **Cheers!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 15 – Keep moving forward, even if it kills you in the end**

"Bakugou did WHAT?"

Philae had never seen Ochako angry, and she realised why it was better that way. The brunette was ready to tear the wall open with her fists, her aura giving off a dangerous waft of murderous intents. The rest of class 1A had come back for the evening, after a normal day – or what could pass as normal for future heroes –. Ochako, Tsuyu, and Izuku had immediately tried to get news from Phi, as they knew she had to try and summon again. They were eager to learn how it had turned out, and congratulated her when they heard it had gone well.

At some point during the conversation, though, she had to explain why the blonde disaster named Bakugou Katsuki was looking much calmer, eyeing her still, but with an air of stubborn expectancy rather than downright hostility. He had even muttered a civil g'night before he strode back to his own business, which was alarming everyone. Zen-Bakugou was calling for apocalypse. His challenge had therefore been mentioned, and being the overreacting kind of girl Ochako was, her discontent showed immediately.

"How dare he!," she raged, the others slightly backing away from her. "he has the _gall_ to threaten you, and then act as if it were the most normal thing to do? No sir! Absolutely not! Let me show him where respect lies!"

"Ochako, please," Phi pleaded, "I don't want any trouble. I'll train hard and fight him fairly, so that he leaves me in peace."

The gravity girl scoffed.

"And he'll likely harass you for a rematch, again and again, until he finally beats you and gloats. No, that's not right."

"The fact that he wants to fight her, or the harassing part, ribbit?"

"Both!" Ochako threw her fists in the air in exasperation. "That guy is an absolute a-"

"If he does harass me," Philae placated her, "I will ask Infuriae to defend my dignity. Don't worry, I've got this."

 _At least, I hope I do._ Truth be told, she did not feel overly confident in her ability to beat the bombing prodigy. He was way better trained that she would ever be, and she doubted he would wait for ages.

Or, he would be sensible. Not.

She shook the self-depreciating thoughts away. If she was to become a hero, she had to overcome any kind of adversity. A fight against Bakugou could serve as good training for her. She had to consider that way, at least.

If only Ochako could calm down...

Iida chose this time to interrupt, his responsibility as the class rep demanding he said something to restore peace in the group.

"Philae is right, Uraraka. We mustn't solve this kind of problems ourselves. Besides, if anything fishy comes from Bakugou, I'll take responsibility in reminding him the rules. He's already crossed the line once with Midoriya, I'm sure he wouldn't like to ignite Aizawa-sensei's wrath a second time. It'd be his last."

His tirade calmed things down a bit with its rational thinking. He was right, Bakugou had bent the rules when he had challenged Izuku to an unauthorised fight, and he had been punished for that. He had to tread carefully now. Philae sent a grateful look Iida's way.

Ochako did not look fully convinced, though she visibly deflated.

"I suppose you're right," she finally sighed, "but!," she exclaimed, looking back at Philae. "If he ever tries anything and you need help, I'll be happy to kick his ass, the old fashioned way! I've had efficient training and he shouldn't underestimate me!"

"No need, though, ribbit," Tsuyu chimed in, "as Phi will be put under the tutelage of a pro hero fitted for training her and her Quirk, along with All Might. She'll be up to the challenge in no time, ribbit ribbit."

"Oh, that's right!," Ochako reverted back to her excited self, her anger temporarily forgotten. "You're going to be tutored by Ryuukyuu! She's wonderful, you'll progress in a flash!"

"And we'll be there to help, ribbit."

Glad for the change in the formerly electric atmosphere, Philae smiled.

"She's your tutor too, right?"

"Yes! She's the best you could hope for, I cannot wait to see you train with her! This will be epic!"

Her smile grew wider. She could not wait to go with her two female friends either.

"Number nine Dragoon Hero Ryuukyuu," commented Iida, readjusting his glasses on his nose like a schooled student, "certainly the best fitted choice for you to improve, Philae."

"I don't doubt that. I just hope she won't mind my, ah, inexperience."

The gravity girl shook her head vigorously.

"Nonsense! She wouldn't have accepted if she feared that."

This relieved her a little. She hated thinking she was a dead weight. She wanted to manage by herself quickly.

"I'm glad, then. She can turn into a dragon, right?"

"Yes. She'll be in a position to teach you how to control draconic abilities, which will give you a serious advantage on the field, ribbit."

"I'm sure she will turn you into a pro in a beat!," the gravity girl prompted. "You'll be fit for hero work in no time, and you'll give that jackass a lesson!"

"Don't talk about your comrade like that," Iida chastised half-heartedly, "though I agree it'd be nice to have you remind him he's not invincible."

"I think he's already learnt a few things when he got rejected at the provisional hero-licensing exam, ribbit," Tsuyu piped up pensively, before their class rep shushed her.

"Don't say that to him, or it'll call for another crisis. I don't want him to blow a fuse again."

"Serves him right!" Ochako puffed up her cheeks. "He always thinks he's the best, it does him some good to be put back in his place, once in a while."

"Guys," Philae placated them, "I don't about that, but if I at least learn the basics so as not to destroy the area every time I sneeze, then I'll be fine for a while."

Her friends gave her an incredulous look, before the brunette punched her playfully in the shoulder.

"Now don't you get cocky too!"

"But that's true!"

They teased her and the girls made further plans with her, now that they were going to the same agency together. Then, they made her promise to give them news of her progress, especially Izuku who was insatiable for knowledge and would indubitably ask. Philae felt warm and cosy, almost at home. She would have never thought she could find people that wonderful in this world, and if it reminded her of her best friend and family back in her real home and sent a slight twinge of sadness to her heart, she thought it best to ignore it for now.

* * *

"I'm Philae Crawford, but you can call me Phi. I'm very honoured to meet you, Ms Tatsuma."

Philae bowed as low as she could, given that the woman before her was a pro hero that had accepted to tutor her, an unknown girl without any field experience and close to no Quirk-training, on top of her undoubtedly heavy schedule. She had been escorted to an agency down town by Ochako and Tsuyu, who then left her to take care of their own business.

The two policemen that had followed her for a little while, had finally ended their escorting her. She would not need any more watching, as she was to be more frequently around pro heroes, and they had an emergency call more important than her anyway. Thank the gods for small miracles, even though she knew she was not exactly off the hook with inspector Naomasa. There would undoubtedly be another visit from him, if only to get news from his friend, and he would then check up on her too. But maybe she would get some freedom back from now on. It was tiresome to be constantly watched and followed, even if it was for her own good – as well as everyone's –.

Her elder prompted her to straighten up with a dismissive wave.

"Don't bother with so much deference. I'm not some kind of elderly woman with a thousand years weighing me down. And call me Ryuukyuu."

Philae nodded and obliged, observing her tutor quietly. The Dragoon Hero was a beautiful, curvy woman, and even though she was not very tall per se, her whole being screamed power. Her costume consisted of a traditional qipao with scaly motifs, a headdress with a scaly headband and a claw-like front, dragon wing ornaments behind her head, and spiked earrings. Her slit pupils and inhumanly pointy teeth reminded those of dragons. She imposed her presence in the room, and in front of her, Philae felt like a youngling presented to a queen.

She absently thought that Infuriae would have been pleased to see she would be taught by such a beauty, no doubt hoping she would turn his mistress into a fine lady like her. Maybe she would.

After a few seconds of mutual perusing, Ryuukyuun blinked and smiled tightly.

"I'm glad I've come to finally meet you. All Might believes you retain much potential, and as usual, he's not mistaken in his judgement."

Such praise made Philae blush. All Might had been talking about her to a pro?

 _Of course, silly, he wanted her to tutor you, so he had to come to it at some_ _point_ , she chastised herself mentally. _Focus!_

The elder woman continued unaware.

"U.A. briefed me quickly about you situation, and I agree I'm in the best position to help you. You're aware our abilities are not to be played with, and I'll be damned if I ever let you roam free with so much power and so little experience. However, I need to know some specifics about your Quirk, if you can give them."

"Yes, Ms-Ryuukyuu."

The heroin nodded appreciatively. She produced a notepad and a pen, ready to write down notes, her face one of rapt attention. Philae did not know exactly what specifics were to be told, but she ventured a guess as to how her Quirk worked in terms of draconic abilities. Her tutor had to compare both Quirks, she believed.

"So. To begin with, I've never turned into a full-bodied dragon." A nod prompted her to go on. "Not that I cannot, I've just never tested so far into my Quirk, or felt the need to. Until now, I've only asked for small changes at a time, depending on the situation; scales, a tail, or claws, are the features I've already presented once. Needless to say my clothes didn't agree." She chuckled nervously, thinking back to the last fight at the café – she had to check if the owner was alright, next time she could get out –. "All in all, I've never trained my stamina or physical duress, as I've come to fear my abilities."

Ryuukyuu hummed.

"With perfectly understandable reasons. We're here to remedy that."

She had expected it, having heard from All Might that the poor girl had discovered a large part of her abilities in less than ideal circumstances, to say the least. But instead of turning into a blood-thirsty outcast, as she could have become, she wanted to be a hero, and the elder understood the sheer support her teacher showed all too well. Dragons were mythical beasts, that if guided right, could serve the greater good quite well. But if not, they could destroy more than a few lives. The consequences of Philae ever losing control, or worse, joining the League of Villains, could damn them all.

It had come to her attention, that the police were very edgy around her new charge. All Might had not specified, but it was clear that they had to be extra careful so as to avoid a disaster. The girl was not listed as hazardous, but in fact, she was not listed anywhere. They only had her own accounts to work with, that even proved trustworthy to some extent by inspector Naomasa, did not suffice.

The Dragoon Hero could still see why the former Number One hero went to such lengths to give Philae a chance. Hero material of that moral fibre and constitution was worthy, and emotions aside, she almost see the girl thriving in her agency very soon. It was up to them to make that happen.

"Do you feel any pain, any discomfort, when you grow additional body parts or when your body morph? Is it a difficult process?," she asked.

"Not that I remember. In fact, the only drawbacks of my Quirk that I know of, except the obvious world-destructing-hazard part, are the fact that I tire very quickly, and I can easily be overwhelmed and dominated by my emotions. Anger and fear are the most dangerous ones, and dragons react minutely to them. I guess they would also take over if I were in very serious danger, like the first time with the Noumu."

Heliosade had only answered her call for help then, but the dragon king would have chosen to stay deaf and let Infuriae go in his place. Aside from the fact that he did what he wanted, there had been a certain violence in the way he had attacked the Noumu. Had Philae had more energy to spare, there would have been no atom of the villainous beast left, or even of the street for that matter.

"I see," Ryuukyuu's voice snapped her out of her memory. "Do you have any predispositions as regards draconic traits? Is your body naturally adapted for your Quirk? Has it been tested on that part?"

"I..."

There was a pause, long seconds of hesitation, during which flashes of other, more unpleasant memories came back to the surface.

There had been moments of pain. Sickening crunches and snaps and cries. Screams of agony, maybe hers, maybe others'. And harsh disappointment, with promises of other tortures from her persecutors.

There had been burns, heat so harsh her skin resisted until it could not anymore and melted. Blinding pain after an eternity of poking and probing along her inflamed limbs. Heat and hotter heat and scorchingly hotter heat and pain. Praises and coos from resented mouths, and the disgusting smell of charred flesh. Not often hers. Sometimes there was only copper-tasting blood left. And the praises. Those damn compliments. The unbearable visions of a future she had wanted no part in.

There had been nausea and acrid tastes in her mouth. Snakes hissing, coiling around her helpless form, and biting deep in her flesh. Huge, long and thin forms of nightmarish hairy beasts crawling up and down her skin, with tiny, piercing fangs and venom that could kill elephants, she heard. And always, always the same praises. The same voice. The same acidic eyes. _Wunderbar, mein Schatz._

Philae forced down the bile that rose up her throat. It was the past. The _past_. There was no Doktor anymore. The doctors were meant to heal. To take care of you. To make you get better. She had seen proof of that when they took care of her not so long ago, when she had arrived. There was Recovery Girl, too, and she was nice. It was alright. They were alright.

Ryuukyuu rose a brow in questioning, feeling she had hit somewhere she should not have. _Shit_. Of course she should not have. Testing was not the way to put it. Not if half of what All Might had implied was true. Which had to be. The girl was as pale as a ghost, menacing to lose it any second.

"It's alright if you don't know," she tried to rectify, "I shouldn't have said it like that."

Philae seemed to take a hold of herself, which was relieving. The Dragoon Hero did not particularly feel like handling a blood-thirsty dragon in her agency just now.

"No, it's okay," the young woman put up a calm a brave front – _I cannot disappoint All Might now_ , she resolved –, but her voice had a tremor in it. "I've... been tested somewhat, before I presented, and I remember I could resist high temperatures better than average humans, to some extent. I also remember poisons, some lethal to people other than me, but I never so much as felt dizzy. That's all. I don't have natural hardened skin or anything, and if I don't call forth scales or a dragon to defend me, well, I can get wounded like anyone else. Just... I've got some sort of resistance to specific things. So, yeah."

She fell silent after that, taking long, steadying breaths. It was alright. She was alright. And if she thought it in the voice of All Might, she could not be blamed, for it worked wonders. That low, rumbling voice was nothing like the Doktor's. It was lulling, soothing and very much right. She was going to be alright. He had said so.

He had given this opportunity to redeem herself. She would take it and never let it go.

The Dragoon Hero noted down her answer, leaving the girl calm herself down. It would be difficult, but hope was not lost. Young Crawford's internal battles were her own to win, but her power would need careful searching, testing and training, in an adequate environment, and that was something she could help with. After all, she was a human-dragon herself.

She could waste not time, though. Time to get to business.

"Right," she piped up somewhat cheerfully, "I have everything I need to work, and let me tell you it'll be no pleasure cruise. I'll leave your basic physical training to All Might, but I'll be here for your Quirk exploring and training, beginning now if you're ready. No time like the present."

Philae finished gathering herself back and nodded. She was, now.

"Yes, Ryuukyuu."

"Awesome." The elder hero stood up and stretched. "Now that's settled, follow me. I've heard about your stunt with the villains, and I want to see the tail that flattened evil like a pancake. All Might refused to tell me the details."

A playful glint flashed in her eyes, and Philae could not help the blush that crept up her neck. Of course he would not tell all the details, and both of them knew why. Could people not leave it alone?

Ryuukyuu sobered quickly and added, "Seriously though, it could be a useful primary weapon to begin with, both to attack and defend, and more practical than a dragon roaming free in our streets. I've guessed it will also be less tiring, and you'll need time to balance it out. I don't want you tripping because you cannot _walk_ with a tail the size of your whole body, much less whipping innocents around you. This way."

Philae scrambled to her feet and followed her tutor out of the room. On their way, a thought hit her.

"Ryuukyuu?"

"Yes?"

The two of them entered a large room that appeared to be a gym, the gear moved out of the way to the farthest walls to have a big empty space in the centre. The Dragoon Hero turned to look at Philae, waiting for her to ask what nagged at her mind.

"I-I forgot to take spare trousers with me," she confessed sheepishly, burning with embarrassment.

Ryuukyuu chuckled at that.

"Don't worry about that. We're among girls, no All Might to peek."

The girl let out a squeak of dismay, making her tutor laugh.

"Oh, don't worry about him, I'm positive he can survive a nice sight once in a while among his duties. You've got nothing shameful here." He laughed before her new protegee's beetroot face, then switched back to her serious tone. "But really, you have other things to worry about. Training you, for example. Now let's go, I don't have all day."

Her sudden change of tone sobered Philae and made her forget all about embarrassment. She was right. Serious business was to begin.

* * *

 _Some days later_

"Focus. Don't whip it around like some loose lasso. Never forget it's a part of yourself."

Ryuukyuu repeated those often, though Philae had a hard time controlling her tail. She was just only beginning to get it to move more instinctively, her brain finally catching up with the fact it had to pilot it like any other limb, only that this one was gigantic and much stronger than both her arms and legs put together.

She felt very much conscious of it. Until now she had only used it for a few minutes. Here, she had to maintain it for more than that, all the while walking up and down the corridors and going across other people without swatting or breaking anything. The last secretary she had met had only had a handful of milliseconds to duck, bless her quick reflexes.

She thought she made some progress, though. It was mostly a question of getting used to her tail's presence. She realised it offered her strong support, working a little like a third leg, or some sort of leverage to lift heavy objects or bodies like a super strong arm. She had learnt to coil it around stuff to carry them or throw them down, in a more controlled and somewhat graceful way than the time when she had just swept the villain into the wall. The results were encouraging.

She was presently trying to use it as a shield against various objects hurled at her face, with little success so far. She still had difficulties to coordinate her movements, and if her arm effectively sprang up to cover her face, her tail often whipped up and hit the roof, fortunately with little damage on both the building and herself. She was only hit with soft balls.

Her tutor did not look like she would get impatient anytime soon, however. Ryuukyuu simply told her what she had done wrong and ordered her to try again, and again, and again. Maybe she had taken as much time when she had trained her own draconic form to combat, or maybe she was merciful. In any case, Philae felt like she should do even better, try even harder. And she did.

"This is a part of yourself, don't let yourself do such dumb moves!," her elder distantly repeated.

She had only seen All Might for their morning jogs and stretching exercises, the retired hero looking slightly distant. He had said he would need time to digest her story, and Philae forced herself not to hurt too much and accept it. It was only logical and right. He was still his amiable, supportive self, even though he acted more professional than anything at the moment. He needed time. She would wait, period...

Ochako and Tsuyu accompanied her in the mornings, and she waited for them to go back together in the evenings. Her classmates felt tense, and she knew something was up, but they would not say a thing and she did not push the issue. It was not her business and she would have to get her provisional license to move further in this field. So she concentrated on getting better and give herself the means to pass the licensing exam next time it would come up.

She was finishing her fifth day of training, and she already felt a little more skilled. Her intense exercising at the agency's gym left her legs less sore every passing day. She felt more agile, and she could move around more easily with her tail, without dragging it like a dead weight. She could sustain it for about thirty minutes without tiring, and even better, she had her costume now, so she did not ruin her trousers anymore.

The thin, stretchy fabric felt wonderful on her skin. She could move freely in it, assured that it would not tear, and after a few awkward hours feeling almost naked because it was so damn light, she could not live without it. The compliments she had received when she had tried the whole gear on in front of her friends had made her heart flutter with pride and renewed motivation.

She had decided she would only wear the trousers for now, keeping the rest for the day when she would truly deserve it. The costume held a persona she could not wear yet. Moreover, she had not shown it to All Might, and she absolutely wanted to show him when she could feel like she was the hero he saw in her, not before. He was not aware that she had it in her hands, and she had made sure her classmates kept their mouths shut about it. It would be a surprise. She wanted to impress him.

"Focus!," Ryuukyuu snapped loudly, catching her attention back to the present.

Just in time. A heavier object zoomed towards her at full speed, and she could almost _feel_ it cut through the air. Her arms sprang up automatically, but this time, her tail followed, still a little sloppily, but there at the right time and place, effectively blocking the attack. Or maybe it was better to say it had been reflected with a return to sender. The ball was hit back by the scaly limb with a thud, indicating its weight was far greater than the other projectiles, and flew away into the farthest wall, where Ryuukyuu had stood a few milliseconds ago. The Dragoon Hero had dodged last minute, and in her place there was a large hole.

Philae hunched back slightly at the sight, ashamed of what had just happened.

 _You could have harmed your tutor, stupid!_

She expected her elder to reprimand her harshly, but instead, she was met with a large smile.

"Congrats, Phi! You're getting the hang of it!"

She stared at her with wide eyes.

"I am? But I've just..."

"Acted on impulse, yes! It means you're taking your tail as your own limb, and your brain is used to it. It'll only be a matter of time now until it moves freely just like you want it to, trust me!"

The praise sounded genuine and for once, Philae welcomed it gratefully. She had heard so many hypocritical compliments, so many kind words laced with demands and ambitions, that the words went through her with a refreshing, warm feeling. It felt nice.

She grinned hopefully.

"I just have to continue training harder, then."

Her tutor acquiesced.

"Yes. I'm positive you'll be able to do more technical moves soon. If you go on like this, you may even begin training another part, like say, wings?"

Wings? Like, to fly? Now that would be awesome! What it would be like? How freeing could it feel? Philae's excitement reinforced her will and steeled it. She could fly! Not many of her hero classmates would be able to do that. Izuku would love to hear that.

Her mirth satisfied Ryuukyuu, who waved at her.

"Knew you'd be excited. Let's do a couple more like that, and we'll call it a day. Take some time to get fresh air, I'm sure you need it."

She did. It had been so long since she had been able to walk around on herself! She loved her female friends, and she had accepted the police safety measures, but a girl needed her alone time outside once in a while. Maybe she would get a melon pan and sit in the park? Next time she knew she would have free time, she would ask if she could bring Anubis along, he would love a little stroll!

But back to the task at hand. She nodded energetically and focused for all the remaining training time they had, ready to face another lead ball. Make this once time a repeat.

* * *

 _Half an hour later_

How great it felt to be finally off alone!

Philae had strolled to the nearest park after a quick trip to the nearest conbini, her favourite treat already halfway eaten, in search for a nice bench in the sun. No shadowing policemen. No worried heroes. No tension. No nothing. Just her and her melon, in harmony with the world and people around her. A well deserved respite.

She still had her tracker and emergency call button not too far from her reach, just in case – and because she would get her head rolling if she did not –, but otherwise, she could enjoy her freedom a little while before it was time to go back to the dorms. Ochako and Tsuyu would not be out before a couple of hours at best.

She finished her sweet snack and leaned back against the bench, looking up to the sky above her. It was a fairly warm, delightful afternoon. Thin clouds surfed quietly across the azure celestial sea. Children were laughing in the distance, somewhere on her right. The wind caressed her skin and made the trees murmur to one another. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander.

How long had it been since her arrival? A month? A little less, maybe. Or perhaps a little more. Time was flying by out of her control, much like the turning of her wheel of fate. Who could have predicted she would decide to try using her magic to become a hero? Who could have foreseen she would find new friends and meet people understanding her struggles and past? Human life was full of surprises.

Philae tried not to think too hard about Kai. She knew her wish was a selfish one. Becoming a hero meant she would not search for a cure as actively as she should. A pang of guilt made her swallow thickly thinking about it. Her brother needed her. She had travelled through two worlds so far, excluding this one, to no avail. She had asked every soul about a miracle, a healing power, a god even, but no one had been up to the task yet. If inspector Naomasa stayed true to his promise, she might have a chance to finally find what she was originally looking for, but what about her other wish, the one she had not accounted for? Could she stay here, with class 1A? Could she make Ryuukyuu and All Might proud? Meet their expectations?

It was a lot to consider. For the first time, Philae found herself torn about what she should do. Saving Kai was top priority, and she could train all she liked in the meantime, as she could not roam free until she was clear with the police and Naomasa, but then? Would she use the device to go back home and never return? She did not want to, and yet she needed Kai's advice. Would he agree, though? He was so distrustful that All Might's and everyone's kindness would pass as a pretence for deeper schemes to him. It was understandable, but annoying sometimes. She could imagine him gauge her teacher up and down, look down on him and question him the way the police had with her. It was overbearing brotherly protection, but she could not help scoffing at the mental image. She was a big girl, now. She would have to manage on herself eventually.

She could not disappoint all hopes placed on her. She wanted to stay here, but her home was there, was it not. What would her friends there say? What would Orion think? It would be ungrateful to throw her stepfather's generosity away, was it not...?

Too many questions made her head spin, and Philae groaned in aggravation. What a mess she had let herself get into.

She opened her eyes again and stared at the sky thoughtfully.

 _I cannot go back now. A heroic career is the best I can hope for with that power of mine. I'd be integrated. Accepted. Useful. Orion and Kai would be proud of me, much like Ryuukyuu and All Might. And in the meantime, I can find the cure. I'll just need to stay level-headed and focused. I can do it. I can._

She repeated this a few more times to convince herself fully. She could do it. She could.

"Look at you. Weak and vulnerable in plain sight. So boring."

She jumped and her head snapped to her left. She had not sensed someone sitting next to her. She chastised herself for her carelessness. Being too deep in thought was stupid of her, now that she was alone and still inexperienced in combat. When she caught the gaze of her surprise bench companion, something unpleasant crept up her spine, like a foreboding sense of danger.

The newcomer had a sickly-looking, gaunt face, with heavy bags under their eyes, cracked lips, and a ghostly pale complexion. The light blue bangs that framed it from under a dark hood reinforced their drawn features. They looked like they had not slept in months and were going to topple over any moment. But those eyes... Crimson pupils stared at her, shining dimly with chaotic, dark intents, and a tinge of dull interest.

Philae refused to give off any feeling of anxiety under that dissecting, piercing gaze. She shut off the alarms that screamed at her to run, and blinked purposefully.

"Excuse me?," she mustered as politely and calmly as possible.

Inconspicuously, she reached for her emergency call button, safely tucked in one of her jeans' pockets. If she could buy time, then...

"Psh. No need to call for your dumb hero friends, I'll be gone before they reach us."

She froze at those words. If she had doubted it before, she now was sure of it. This was a villain, probably one of those that had sent the Noumu she had encountered. This man – for tha voice was clearly male – would have never come to her randomly and say that if not.

Why did he not attack her, though?

Unconsciously, Philae reached for her link and tried to maintain a sort of connection. A low growl resonated along it, vibrations spreading from her belly to her toes and chest in reassuring waves.

It was alright. She could defend herself.

Could she defend everyone around them, however?

The villain must have got fed up with familiarities, for he grunted in annoyance.

"And there I thought you would be more than a mere rookie. So fucking unimpressive. I'm surrounded by incompetents."

He began scratching at his neck, the skin turning an angry red under the harsh ministration of his damaged nails. Philae could only stare, waiting to know what he expected to achieve.

"Why did those morons have you followed? Tch. It's their style to be after some weakling. Not worth my time..."

After a moment of silence she discreetly pressed the button, just in case. She did not feel confident enough to protect all the civilians around, should that villain possess a wide-range Quirk. Better call for help unnecessarily, than risking a disaster.

That done, she might ask the one-billion-dollar question.

"Sorry but, what do you want?"

The words floated between them for a while. It was almost as if they had not reached the other. He kept muttering strings of nonsensical words, ignoring her completely, and her anxiety began to increase. This person was hazardously mad.

He suddenly stopped everything to rivet his gaze back into hers, a snarl deforming his already distorted traits.

"All Might got interested in you, though, like he did with that stupid Midoriya."

She must have appeared confused for a second, for he scowled.

"I don't understand. Really, I don't. Dragon Lady... Heh, my ass. You're nothing special. You're nothing but a weak lizard. Dabi and Toga are fucking incapable of doing the simplest job."

He turned away a fraction, again lost in his own fantasies.

"Morons... Stupid... What with her...?"

Again to her. Or maybe not.

"You're not the final boss, but maybe you guard a secret dungeon or something," he speculated. "Some sort of extra achievement. What would you be there for, if not for this."

 _Video games references?_ Philae repressed the urge to raise a brow. This guy really was mad. And childish.

From what she could grasp, however, he was smart enough to have known about her last interactions with All Might and the police. He was probably an enemy of the retired hero, looking for a means to strike through her. Definitely the boss of the two villains she had fought at the café. But why did his League want to harm/kidnap/test her – whatever their intentions were –? Her crossing paths with the Noumu had been a matter of tough luck, but then? Why attack both her and All Might?

Her brain met several conclusions at once: one, he thought her important to All Might, and/or Izuku; two, regardless if she really was important to the former hero, the villain believed he could strike him through her, and she could not strike back without taking the risk to make collateral damage; and three, the fact that she was alone with him, without anyone to witness the exchange, would make things even harder for her as regards Naomasa's doubts if she messed up – which did not matter right now, but it was painfully well recapitulated –. Those realisations sent shivers down her spine. She was in a pinch she had let herself fall in like a dumb airhead.

Her internal debates did not concern the madman, who continued his ranting like she was not even here.

"I don't know why I bother... Sensei, though... Psh, so fucking boring..."

How did a nutcase such as he become a big hat in that shady League of his? Was he even a leader? He sounded like a retarded teenager, although she could see the slyness and high intelligence he harboured under this false pretence of childishness.

She had to buy some more time. She could do this, at least. With help, she could limit damage on everything.

"Um, I dunno about your RPG fantasies," she forced herself to declare boldly, interrupting the other mid-sentence, "but if you expect the villains to loot the place, might as well not go without at least a backup. As far as I know, _your_ high lord got defeated. Don't try and pass a level you're clearly unprepared for."

 _Smart move, considering you're alone, twat._

It was a weak retort, unthreatening at best, but urgency clearly did not inspire geniuses. She hoped it would at least disconcert the man long enough for the heroes to come here in time.

She mentally touched the link for reassurance, and warm waves of fierce resolution flooded her. If the civilians were safe, then it was all good. She would succeed.

The villain snorted in disdain.

"Pft, at least you can talk back." Then, after a pause, his face split in a mockery of a smile. "You're one to open your big mouth, but you're clearly out of it. Do you even know who you're talking to?"

He tilted his head, feigning innocent interest, and she almost flinched at the murderous aura. Almost.

Philae refused to let herself get intimidated. On autopilot, her brain gave her a reply fitted for a bully in mid-school.

"I don't know, best answer would be 'a massive douchebag with a head full of cats'."

 _Keep distracting him off the fact he's being surrounded soon. Get out of this pinch. You can do this._ She kept repeating it in her head, to steel herself.

The villain's jaw clenched one, two times, then he released an unamused snort.

"So much noise from a lizard. Trying to make yourself more threatening than you are, when all you do is whining for momma dragon."

She shuddered. He knew. Of course he did. Why did he stay, then?

Children squealed in delight in the distance, probably because they were having tons of fun on the nearby swings. People were passing by peacefully, unaware of the danger that loomed a few feet from them. The villain did not spare a single glance in their direction, but Philae could not help noticing every single innocent person in the corners of her vision, and she knew he knew that she did.

 _Please, let the heroes come soon._

She had to act bold and confident in the meantime.

The man studied her face, searching for hints of fear, trying to pick her apart with the intensity of his bloody gaze. She did not give him any satisfaction. If he could wear a mask to deceive people, then so could she.

A little longer to go, then they would come, she knew it.

"Stupidly defiant and fierce, for someone that weak. Those heroes really are doing their grand number on you..." The grin came back, more aggressive. "Hidden dungeon, heh? Is it a treasure you're protecting? A heart? A soul? A dark secret?"

What was he getting at?

"You're not worth a bag of peanuts, but maybe..."

She could do this.

"Look," she tried, "I don't understand what you're talking about, but-"

Before she could finish, one of his hands flashed in her peripheral vision, the movement so quick after so much immobility that she barely registered it, and only thanks to her instincts did she intercept it. Long, slender fingers closed up around her hand, and pain flared where they touched her skin.

Startled, she tried to tear her hand off his grip, but she got distracted enough for him to hit her in the side with a syringe.

Heat and pain exploded in her body. Her link quivered violently, and she saw red. A roar made her whole body tremble with its intensity. Even with the little training she had had, she could feel her magic brew and boil as if wanting to burst out of her body and blow up the area.

 _No._

No one paid attention to her grimace of horror, as she felt her power swell and get out of control. Her skin smelt like rotten flesh.

Her thoughts escaped her, and uncontrollable memories clouded her sense of reason with terror.

 _A needle jabbed in her side, infusing sedatives in her veins. Mad eyes stared at her as she lost consciousness, the brief pain in her body fading away._

 _Her skin melted and smelt terrible. Her body wrung in agony as she cried and cried._

 _Whips cracked and blood oozed despite her pleas._

 _And there were snaps and smashes and bites and praises and cries and screams and yells andstopmakeitstopmakeitstopMAKEITSTOP._

 _No one came to her rescue._

Shigaraki watched her as her eyes clouded and slitted and a low, suffering growl came up her throat. His grin threatened to split his face in half, and he chuckled.

Philae could not see him properly anymore. He was a blur. She felt dizzy, her head swimming in disbelief and numbness. Where was she? Was it her flesh that got disintegrated? The pain was the only thing that still grounded her into her body, but she felt both here and there, trapped in-between worlds. Trapped in her own body. Unable to stop chaos from happening.

Voices shouted in the distance, and sirens howled, and screams exploded everywhere, but they were so far, so unreal. She was alone. No one would dare approach.

The dragons roared. She was threatened. They wanted out. She could not let them out. She could not. There were too many people. Innocents. She could not.

The pain was unbearable.

 _Please make it stop!_

She faintly noticed the villain's eyes had glinted with something like satisfaction, but she was not sure. Was he here anymore? Or there? The words he pronounced eventually reached her, out of sync with his moving lips. Maybe it was another memory, lapsed by her current confusion. Maybe she invented it altogether.

"So, Lady Dragon, what treasure do you guard in your dungeon? If I damage you, will the king out and come to your rescue? If I slay you, will he seek revenge?"

Silence. Then, "Or perhaps you'll be the one destroying him."

She clung to the little control she had left on her powers, and held them down.

 _Please make it stop._

* * *

 _Meanwhile, at UA_

Toshinori sighed. Grading copies was hellish, and certainly not the part of his job he liked best. He wished he could only grade practical courses, it would have been way easier on him. At least his mind could wander while he robotically read the assignments and note the mistakes.

Midoriya progressed nicely. In fact, all of 1A did, which was wonderful. Those students were on the right track, and Kami knew they needed to be prepared as soon as possible for the hardships and challenges to come.

It was good, for the information they got lately were worrying.

At first, there had been those two villains. Philae had sent them to hospital, but they had been recently reported missing from their room, despite the police force watching them. No doubt a move from the portal-Quirk user of the League.

Then, there had been the Precepts...

It seemed that All Might's retirement had been all what the villains needed to gain in strength and influence and make their first bold moves against heroes. It was highly troublesome, all the more because All for One was in prison, now, and that had not deterred them in the least, quite the contrary.

Those announced dark times indeed. And he could do nothing to prevent it, which infuriated him further.

He stopped mulling over these unpleasant thoughts when his phone rang. Digging it up from a stack of papers, he blanched when the number of Tsukauchi appeared.

His friend never called him during the day, unless it was an emergency.

He tapped the answering button.

"Yes?"

"Toshi." Tsukauchi's voice sounded strained. How long had he not been sleeping? "Shigaraki has made a move on Philae. She's being collected by two of your students as I'm speaking. She's been injected with Trigger."

 _Trigger._ The Quirk enhancing drug. Dread weighed like lead in his stomach.

"How...?"

"He approached her unaware. As she's not been in contact with the League other than the Noumu, I guess she didn't recognise him. We've been alerted because she pressed her emergency button, however, so she at least knew he was dangerous."

Why did he go to her? Had he discovered anything as regards her? Toshinori's brain started to rewind everything that had happened since she arrived, notice anything the League could have seen, think about what could have crossed Shigaraki's mind.

Somehow, the retired hero knew it was his fault.

"Is she alright? Has anything happened?"

Silence. He was about to repeat, when Tsukauchi replied.

"More or less. Apparently she's been saved by the fact her Quirk isn't exactly a Quirk as we conceive them, so she's been able to prevent it from going amok, and no one has been injured. She, on the other hand..."

Again. Another injury. Were all the students close to him meant to get hurt on a regular basis?

His mouth felt dry and his throat constricted.

"She what?," he pressed on.

"She's undergone some internal damage, as well as a medium-sized wound caused by Shigaraki's Disintegration on her left side, and a minor injury on her hand." Tsukauchi had taken his professional tone. It faltered a fraction when he said next, "I'm worried about her mental state, though."

Toshinori found himself striding along the corridor to get out of the school. He could not stay there a minute longer.

"What do you mean? Where are you?"

His friend gave him indications as to where they were, and he bolted straight to them, ignoring the strain in his legs and chest.

Villains were indeed bolder and more threatening, and he could do nothing. Why was he not able to protect them all anymore?

Tsukauchi continued in the other end, "I think she's experiencing a dissociating phase. She's unresponsive, watching the paramedics handling her with a distant gaze, as if she weren't there at all. Her side must hurt like hell, but she's not complaining. Acting like she doesn't feel anything. Keeps saying it's nothing."

Those were the signs of dissociation. They all knew it could happen at some point, given the young woman's baggage, though it did not mean it was enjoyable. Especially now.

"I don't know what triggered it," the detective continued. "Maybe the needle we have found nearby, or the way her wounds have been caused, or anything else. I have no fucking clue, and she isn't helping. She hasn't explained much, apart from her describing Shigaraki and how he knew about her weakness and thinking she is involved deeper than she actually is. It makes close to no sense."

On the contrary, it did for Toshinori, and he knew it would soon do to Tsukauchi too.

His friend let out a groan.

"I'm at a loss, here. I'm too fucking tired for this shit. She's won't respond and I doubt the paramedics will get any positive answer anytime soon. Her classmates are getting anxious. You're possibly the most knowledgeable..."

"I'm on my way."

Toshinori cut off the conversation and hung up. He was running, now.

He pushed the guilt down as far as he could. He had become useless for many, but now, right this instant, he was needed.

He would die before he ever abandoned someone in need of his help.


	18. Chapter 16

**New cover picture :D made by the talented Desiderata-girl! Thanks again!**

* * *

Chapter 16 - Duty

The world was a strange invention. People kept skittering about, again and again, round and round, like restless ants on a gigantic glass orb. Like the orbs fortune tellers use to predict your fate. Only the great Creators could see the fates of their little ants, and the tiny insects could only move forward with their lives. Round and round.

Philae felt perfectly fine and well, her mind a peaceful haze of golds and blues. People of the world were buzzing around her in all sorts of colours. White and black, pink and hazel, azure and white and pink and lime green and…

Oh. More needles. She hated needles, but she had given up on dodging them. Something at the back of her mind reminded her that it was useless to try. Those did not hurt, though, which was always a consolation. Things had stopped hurting a while ago.

She wondered if she had to recognise those people. Some reasoning at the edge of her conscience whispered those were known faces, possibly from a close past, but everytime she tried to grasp memories they flew away like frightened birds. It did not bother her not to know, but the blurs of people felt strangely anguished at her acknowledging them, so she tried for their sakes.

It all must have been a dream. A bad one, which had turned okay after a while. How could she explain those colours and sensations otherwise? Philae just had to wait for the unruly tides of her sleep to take her away and back to her room. She could be patient, as she was perfectly at ease and well. She could not care either way.

Voices stayed suspended in the air, muffled, like soap bubbles drifting and reaching her in a burst of syllables. They were calling her name, it seemed, but she could not make herself reply. What would she say, anyway?

Maybe she should reply. However, she needed their names to do so. Names were important. They cleared the way to reach the being, and, presently, she did not have the necessary keys to get in touch with those people. She knew she had them stored somewhere, but they still evaded her. She could do little about it, anyway.

She felt herself smile at them, hoping to get reassuring. There was nothing wrong. Maybe she eventually said something, though she did not bother to listen to herself. She focused on the blurred lines of the faces in front of her and met their worry. It permeated the air in a damp, heavy cloud that left a bitter taste on her tongue.

A flurry of lines indicated movement behind the people, and someone from the outside of the world came in. An explosion of gold and white and pearls of azure filled her line of vision. A booming, rumbling voice slashed through the thick bitterness and collided with her. Another wave of hot, spicy feelings hit her square in the chest. For the first time in a while, there came sense.

"Phi-e. A- right? Phi-e ca- -r me?"

The man was a reassuring presence. He just had this aura about him, radiating with warmth and care. A tad bit of worry. Plenty of love. Soon, the aura broke through her invisible walls like an inflating ball of fluff; it was not threatening, but inviting, and Philae let it engulf her. Something told her that he was important to her and would never do any harm. She did not have his name, but she knew him. He was here for her.

His voice tried to reach to her again. Her name finally found its way through the empty space and into her ears. Things seemed to click into place. It was a matter of seconds before she got some keys to communicate efficiently again. This rumbling baritone drew her in like an irresistible magnetic force. Giving in to it suddenly felt more important than staying comfortable in the world.

She tilted her head to hear it better. She wanted to hear more.

"Can you hear me?," it repeated slowly.

The words felt much closer now. They echoed for a moment, their meaning eluding and unimportant. The tone of the man's voice, though, vibrated through her hazy mind. His warmth shielded her from everything else than them. She was safe. Slowly, her brains caught up with the words, deciphering what they held in essence.

The person asked if she could hear him. Did they want to know if she was deaf, or did they need reassurance of her connecting with the world somewhat? Perhaps both. Her eyes refused to give her a better view of the world that still looked blurry, but her ears seemed to work just fine now. Maybe her mouth would, too, if she tried to give a reply.

The person sounded anguished. Did she look that awful? Maybe she would try to make an effort.

She just had to remember how to respond. Communicating was tough.

* * *

Toshinori told himself to be patient. Slowly, he repeated his question, articulating each syllable, intoning each word differently, speaking as loudly and gently as possible.

He tried his best to appear strong and professional, but internally, he screamed in agony. Trigger had not turned his student into a deformed hip of scaly flesh and pointy bones, but damage was visible everywhere he looked.

Philae's skin was faintly glistening from the inside, geometrical shapes forming an intricate pattern on her whole body, as if the scales were only just brimming on the surface, but would not sprout out. Her neck, especially, was adorned with brown and black lines forming a net stemming from her lower jaw and disappearing under the hem of her tattered shirt. Her face was crossed with blueish hues, and from what Toshinori could see her arms and legs sported crimson chain-like patterns. Those could have been okay if they did not ooze blood in some places. A paramedic was regularly dabbing her open cuts with an antiseptic, and an IV supplied her with everything she was losing elsewhere.

The stench of rotten flesh assaulted his nostrils, while another paramedic struggled with the wounds that Shigaraki had inflicted upon Philae. The former Number One hero had had his share of awful experiences, but it did not alter the effect those had on him. His eyes watered from the acrid smell, and he swiftly chased the tears away with a finger. He had to remain strong and professional. Composed.

Her eyes, though. Normally, Trigger turned its victims' tongues black, but here, it had affected her eyes instead. Her warm, chocolate irises had completely disappeared while her blown out pupils had taken all the space. His student was far away from reality, drowned in that black pit. Only the abyss was looking back at him now.

But the worst was probably how she smiled despite all that. A soft, but frozen smile paralysed her face into that of a wax doll. It was lifeless. Meaningless. It frightened him to his very core. Although there was a sense of déjà-vu to this, he surprised himself thinking that he preferred the time when she had been terrorised. At least, she had shown real emotions, which he had been able to work with. Now, he had very little to pick up on.

He had found a stool and sat himself down next to the stretcher she was on. Philae was, indeed, unresponsive to most of the stimuli around her. Talking amounted to very few reactions, though she seemed to perk up now and then, particularly when her name was called out. Moreover, he could not explain it fully, but she looked like she recognised his voice, so he kept on trying to reach out to her. He had this feeling he would succeed eventually. His skin prickled with something akin to a sense of anticipation, pushing him onwards.

After a few minutes of unilateral talking, she gave off some sort of response and let herself slump against his chest. Toshinori collected her easily in his arms without question or surprise. The air buzzed with unknown energy, as if he had entered a parallel dimension. Her dimension. No word could clearly express what the retired hero was experiencing; he just set aside all sense of logic and went with the flow.

The young woman weighed close to nothing and felt so fragile, like the time when she had had her relapse. Her skin felt icy, despite its faint glow. Tiny spasms raked her frozen limbs every now and then, as if pain, or sudden haunting ideas, shot through them. Toshinori prayed all the gods existing on this plane that she was not dreaming of her past torturers. Fuck emotions, if her showing them meant she relived bad memories, he highly favoured her expressionless state instead.

He hoped his own body heat could seep through her, chase away her numbness, and make her interact with him at some point.

 _Please let me through_ , he pleaded mentally. _Please, please let me help._

"Philae," he repeated very, very slowly.

She blinked somewhat, her focus shifting subtly to his mouth. Her blown pupils seemed to shine differently. Maybe it was only his anxious mind playing tricks on him, though hope bloomed in his constricted chest.

"Philae, can you hear me?"

He detached each word and made sure to pronounce them very distinctly, his eyes never leaving hers, waiting for the slightest movement that could indicate she was listening. He noticed them twitch, and she craned her neck to face him fully. Her lips defroze and she showed him a grin full of pointy teeth. The skin on her cheeks gleamed a little brighter.

He could not have imagined this. She heard him, of that he was now certain. Careful not to make her clam up again, he inhaled and continued.

"If you can hear me, please, blink."

This was a needed confirmation for everyone in the room. Tsukauchi must have retreated in the farthest corner of the paramedic tent, observing. Uraraka and Asui were here too, fidgeting but trying their best to remain calm. Toshinori could sense them, even if he did not see them. Ryuukyuu also had to be there, somewhere. All these people relied on him, and he wanted to show them he progressed.

Philae watched. Then, she closed her eyes a fraction and let out a strange gurgle, akin to a cat's purr. The sound hit him square into the chest, and warmth spread into his whole torso. The former hero started at the uncanny phenomenon. _That_ he could not have imagined.

This felt like the time when she sang. She was responding. His spirits soared with excitement and renewed vigor.

He licked his lips to give himself countenance and calm his spinning mind. He had to choose his words like a jeweller chose his gems.

"Good. Can we… can I talk to you more?"

Another blink. Relief washed over him. He had succeeded in making contact. She felt warmer and livelier, and he wanted to keep it going that way.

"Alright. Listen, this is important." He paused. "Philae, I am here to take you back home," he explained, insisting on the last word.

 _Home. Where you belong. Among your friends, with your dog. With me, and Aizawa, and everyone else to protect you. To safety._

"However," he went on, "I cannot do so if you are not here with me."

 _I'm here, so don't be afraid. We're here. Please come back so we can help._

She tilted her head and furrowed her brows. She did not understand.

 _Fuck. Think, Toshinori._

"Philae," he called her back to attention. "You are not totally conscious. You are far, far away into your world. I-I know you feel pain…"

Her brow scrunched up and a new gurgle came out of her throat, sounding like a whine. A ripple in the air indicated a shift in her moods. He did not know how he understood this, but he did. He gulped, then sighed.

"I know. I am sorry. I know how it feels. But I can make it better, I promise."

He paused to let her take the words in, then added, "I just need you to be courageous, and face the pain long enough for me to do so."

It pained him to say it, but it had to be done. Philae had to reconnect to their reality, and thus with her wounded body, so that they could treat her better and heal her. If not physically, at least mentally. She flinched at his words, whimpering like a scared animal, and curled up against him, her face buried between her knees. Now, she was sitting on his lap, her legs dangling oddly between him and the makeshift bed. It must have been uncomfortable but she did not seem to mind. He held her securely, like he would have with a small infant.

He absently noted blood stains on his shirt. Nevermind. Her supple flesh spread a soothing balm of human warmth against his own monstrous body. His scar did not even hurt.

"It is difficult, I know," he comforted her. "I am here to help, I promise."

He seemed to make one too many promises today. He could not help it, though. He had to help. He yearned to save her. Aizawa's words nagged at him, coupled with his memories of her hurting and telling him her biggest, darkest secrets. She trusted him. All Might was bound to her. He could not, and he would not, fail her.

Energy hummed and unfurled around him. What it was doing to him, he had no clue, but it was not unpleasant. It felt like a light, caressing touch of invisible wings. He was no fool and knew this could turn into blazing gushes of wind, though he sensed no intent to harm anyone at present. If this was what Philae felt when she used her quirk, he found it was no more villainous than fire burning away in the pyre. Only the use of it determined how it was. So far, he had only seen a positive use of the dragons' powers. This, more than anything, assured him he was doing the right thing.

The pair stayed like that for a long moment. Toshinori was so engrossed in the strange atmosphere that he totally forgot the passing of time and the presence of others around them. He waited for Philae to digest the information and make a move on her own. He did not feel the usual stiffness in his muscles or the straining of his tired limbs. He was on duty and nothing would interfere, not even himself. It was second nature. Furthermore, it seemed he had access to what his student called magic, in a way that appeased his fatigue. He could remain seated with his young charge forever if need be.

A stir against him, followed by a distressed moan, snapped him back to Philae. When she finally looked back at him, he felt her conscious in the black orbs. A tiny, squeaking voice found its way to her lips, and the sound of it both relieved him and wrenched his heart.

"All Might… 'M so sorry…"

She trembled like a leaf. The painkillers might not be enough and Toshinori debated on whether he should wrap himself more around her to keep her sense of safety intact, or release her from his embrace so as not to cause her unnecessary suffering.

Without warning, the world around them burst the bubble they seemed to have been in. Paramedics swarmed around them, ready to take over. Tsukasa appeared next to him, putting a steadying hand on his shoulder. Only then did Toshinori realise he too shook with exhaustion. However, the slightest sign of stress from his student had him refuse to let go.

"I am here," he murmured softly. "I will help."

He meant every word, and he knew she knew it. She nodded faintly and sagged. Her eyes closed and she fell into a deep slumber. At last, she was back. Safe.

The former hero let out his breath. He failed to register what happened after that, now that he fulfilled his duty. She was here with them. The rest would have to wait. In a way, saving her felt like saving him. If he could help, he was still good at helping. It did not matter how many times he had to do it. If she needed him, he would be there every single time.

She still saw him as a hero. Or better, she saw both the human and the hero in him, and she had never shown anything close to rejection, pity, or embarrassment to his decline. She was not his heir, she had no connection to him other than he being her teacher, but she needed him just as strongly as she would a close relative. Maybe one day he could see what she saw in him, if he tried long enough. In the meantime, he would make sure he would be the first person she would open her eyes to.


	19. Chapter 17

**Wow, an update so soon! XD**

 **I'm trying to get another point of view on the stituation, and I just love Naomasa so I wanted to give him more importance. He's a great detective :p**

 **I'll try and write a Christmas special, with tons of fluff involving our favourite dork. Wish me luck!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17 - Rescue project**

The scene of the attack was very clean, compared to the damage it could have created. The police tape delimited a small square in the middle of the park, where the paramedics had set up a tent for Philae's privacy. The prying eyes of bystanders and the media could be kept at a distance that way, even if they would have to move the girl and All Might at some point. One problem at a time, though.

Naomasa let out a long suffering sigh and rubbed the back of his stiff neck. He needed sleep, assapissimo. Forensics combed the area in search of anything useful other than the syringe, but he knew they would not find much. Shigaraki had not meant to linger longer than necessary. He had certainly acted on impulse, and that was that.

Which made Philae Crawford more of a liability than an actual, reliable citizen. A mammoth thorn in his already pricked side.

Not to repeat himself, but if the inspector was honest with himself, he would definitely say that the girl was a nuisance. Sure, she was smiley, polite, very obliging, and cooperative. She meant no harm, quite the contrary. She seemed to appreciate, seek out even, Toshinori's company, regardless of his… current infirmities or lack of self-confidence. She had integrated nicely in the hero course and class 1-A. Aside from her apparent bad luck when it came to attract dubious people, she was fine on every aspect.

That was what worried Naomasa the most.

First investigations had revealed nothing. Philae Rosa Helen Crawford, born Thatch, had never been born, never been registered, never gone to school, never done nothing in all nothingnesses. This tallied with her statement that she did not belong to their world, which the inspector's lie-detecting quirk had confirmed as true, and they had not explored further. Thus, the initial search had become a whirlwind of paperwork so that the foreign girl had an identity and administrative presence, courtesy of Principal Nedzu. If hell existed, it bore Crawford's thick file on one of the Devil's shelves. The poor official who had had to take care of that case must have flipped over in horror.

The Grail had been delivered into Nedzu's office earlier this morning, Naomasa believed. He had not checked for notifications on this specifically, and would not bother right now. He just wanted to sleep for more than thirty minutes at a time.

Those hassles aside, something more preoccupying still troubled his already busy and exhausted mind. The policeman wished he did not worry so much, but the thought would not leave him. With each passing day, the elephant in the room got larger and more precarious. The room itself would soon become too small for it, and the matter would get inevitable.

Philae was a huge liability. She had a talent to get herself in peril, even though it was unintentional. And worse than that, she pulled Toshinori down with her. This was undeniable fact, whether she intended it or not.

She put Naomasa's best friend in deathly situations. And said friend _did not care_.

That was not new of All Might to jump into action before he fully calculated the risks of such an enterprise. True, the goof had not waited for his new student, to be dumb and reckless with his well-being. Nevertheless, this level of blindness defied reason.

Fellow policemen and paramedics bustled around him in a haze. His eyes unfocused, Tsukauchi wondered if picking up on smoking would be a bad idea. He so desperately needed some kind of stress relief, and his bed was nowhere near him to crash into. Not that he could get some time off before long, but still. An ugly plastic chair like those at the station would have sufficed to please his tired back. Maybe he would end up screwing image and professionalism and sit down on the very floor he stood on. This was tempting.

He was getting too old for this shit. Especially now that shit came from a grown adult and retired hero. Toshinori really should know better. Only he did not and came running when the girl messed up. And running, in the literal sense of the term. The blonde had not waited to hail for a cab, no, he had _run_ two blocks to get here. Two effing city blocks, whereas he normally should not even strain himself. Just because his bloody feelings got in the way and clouded his judgement as regards Philae. Because he cared too much about her. Made her his priority.

The madness of the situation made Naomasa's blood boil. Toshinori was like a huge teddy bear. He wished to comfort the whole world. He _needed_ to comfort people. Helping was in his very DNA, engraved in his soul in bold letters. Without it, he could well wither away and die from helplessness. This made him a wonderful hero and teacher, but a shitty functioning being. Without Tsukauchi to have his back, he might forget to breathe, sometimes.

The inspector was not jealous of the attention the girl received. He did not overreact and was not petty as to accuse a teen of every little thing plaguing his friend. However, he feared no one except him saw what was happening.

Although he was a policeman and therefore a specialist at observing and deducing, he believed everyone with eyes and a brain could figure out what transpired between All Might and his young charge. It was subtle, but it was _there_ , in front of them. The shifting in the dynamics of their relationship to each other was blindingly obvious. What Naomasa could observe in that tent, was not a hero helping a endangered innocent, nor was it a strange kind of fatherly reaction from a teacher towards his wounded student.

The blonde did act like a father with Midoriya, and that was good. They bantered, Toshinori worried about his heir, and he kept tabs of the boy's progress. However, he would never molly-coddle him. He would never hold him so close, that even the docs could not get to touch him. He would never overstep his boundaries, because the boy had legitimate family. Even if Ms Midoriya seemed the kind of woman who accepted many things, he would not risk putting her parenthood into question, nor would he offer himself as a substitute for the boy's lack of a real father. He loved and respected him that way.

This, though. This was nowhere similar to how he acted around Philae. Whenever since she had barreled into their lives, the blonde's thoughts seemed to revolve around her. At first, Tsukauchi had thought it was because as a retired hero, his friend grasped at anything he could to feel useful, like a meth addict begging for his fix. She appeared as his great mission, his Good Samaritan project. For him, she was the solution to his problems, the challenge only he could take up.

As for her, she was earnest in her caring for the blonde. She enjoyed his company, that much was clear as day. Things also indicated that she had laid herself bare to him, entrusting him with information he refused to disclose to anyone, even Naomasa. She trusted him body and soul. Unknowingly, she prompted and nurtured Toshinori's saviour syndrome. She even… No. She could not.

Toshinori Yagi was a loveable man. His hero persona had made many women swoon. His big mushy heart and shy demeanour when in true form made him very touching and sweet. If only he were more confident in himself, even if he was not muscular any more, he could let himself be loved for who he was.

Philae was a likeable girl, objectively. She accepted things as they came, and she was not half-witted. She saw what Naomasa saw in the blonde, and she tried to take it out in the open. She had qualities that every sensible man could notice and appreciate. She could not be after All Might's fame and money, as she seldom knew the hero and had never seen him in flesh. She only knew Toshinori, and liked him just as he was. Really, when one watched her at a distance, one could immediately see how a man could fall in love with her.

Tsukauchi shook his head and snorted. He was too tired, now he was thinking about stupid things. Love. Affection. Feelings. Those words sounded insane when appended to the relationship the pair had. No. Impossible. His eyes saw facts, but his mind refused to give credit to that idea. It had to be some weird obsession that drove Toshinori. Only that. A twisted idee fixe, that would deflate once the girl got independent enough or found what she sought. A passing fit of madness.

He hoped it was. If not, this called for a disaster. Neither would bear the heartbreak.

He had to find that healing or erasing quirk soon. Once he did, Crawford would finally detach herself from the retired hero, who would return to a saner, healthier life. It looked sad if taken from the blonde's point of view, but it was better than the alternative. In any other situation, Naomasa might have encouraged feelings, but not here. Not now. Not with her. She was a temporary obsession, a rescue project. Nothing more. He would make sure it stayed that way, for his friend's sake. He could not bear the thought of picking up the pieces of what once had been All Might's heart. Never.

Maybe Tsukauchi himself was also deluded. He just did not want to take the risk of her ruining more than she had already done. He would not allow it.

All of a sudden, his phone buzzed into life, taking him back to the most urgent case at hand. It was Tamagawa.

"Sir, we're ready. Deployment is imminent."

More work. His bed called for him, but Inspector Naomasa resisted the siren's song. He steeled himself. Work took priority.

"Coming."

They were ready to try and extract little Eri from Overhaul's abusive hands. Tsukauchi's brain suddenly provided him with the disturbing knowledge that the girl, coincidentally, did possess an impressive erasing quirk, hence the reason why her tormentor exploited her. The way she was treated by the Preceipt also resembled those Philae experienced. That made a lot of coincidences. He felt sad for a moment, considering all this. Fate was cruel indeed. At least it proved they could manage to find a Quirk that would help Crawford and have her go back to wherever she came from.

He cast one last glance into the tent. Toshinori was wrapped around his student like a bloody octopus, shielding her from both the outside world and the docs. He said something unintelligible from where Tsukauchi stood, but it seemed to contain the words "safe" and "home". His entire being screamed care, protection... tenderness.

He schooled his thoughts. _No._

It was obsession. It was madness. It had to cease while they could.

But what if…?

The blonde's features looked relaxed, alive with an emotion he could not read. It was not like with Midoriya, nor was it like with anyone else. The girl was sound asleep, her body lax and curled up against her guardian. To any stranger of the scene, they could almost come out as a snuggling couple, if not for the age difference.

What if…?

Shaking his head, the inspector forced himself into focus. Work took priority. As he marched down the alley to the busy street and hopped into a police car, he decided that after that rescue mission, he would seriously look for a means to solve this situation.

Or maybe he would sleep before he did. Maybe.


	20. Chapter 18

**OML, have I waited that long to update?**

 **Sorry guys ^^" I've been busy with a novel that is being published, and my corrector was passive-aggressive in her attempt at having me finish on time - which is difficult for me due to life issues and my being a dumb perfectionist in my own language -.**

 **This chapter might not be the best, but I'm trying to find a pace in Toshi and Phi's romance - mixing two clueless dunces and a slow burn is no easy fate -. Regarding this, I've left a question for you at the end of the chapter.**

 **Credits: Ceredwen - Blwyddyn I Heno (Welsh song)**

 **SPOILER ALERT! This chapter is set after chapters 159-160 (Overhaul arc). Some plot elements come directly from those.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18 - Things like to repeat themselves... only it is worse now**

Philae found herself in deep slumber. Again.

Only this time, she had few memories of what had happened before. She could grasp a few images here and there, from Shigaraki to a blindingly sharp sting of a needle, and then nothingness. Only the vague certainty that she had not killed anyone remained like a bitter aftertaste in her mouth, given that she got trapped into her own mind because of whatever stuff she had been injected with. Again.

Things repeated themselves, it seemed.

She felt helpless. The steadfast thrum of the draconic link, in sync with her heart, where the only things she could make out of her immediate world. Not for long, though.

Suddenly, the link shook, and voices of ethereal quality echoed in the fog surrounding her, carried by an invisible breeze. Trees came out of the nonexistent floor, lush and green and inviting. Water gurgled happily in the distance. The choir amplified and came from everywhere at once. Among them, Philae recognised one she had heard all her youngest years.

 _Mama?_

 **Nôs ar ôl nôs wrth fy ochr y bu**

Night after night you came to my side

 **Heb rhoi chysur na chariad tuag ataf**

Showing no love or affection

 **Ond nawr mae yn glir nid y ti oedd y dyn**

Now it is clear, the man wasn't you

 **Er ei olwg yn debyg i dy olwg di**

In spite of him looking the way you do

 **Wedi 'r trydydd tro fe ddôs ar fy 'nôl**

After the third time, you came to me

 **Dy feddwl yn llawn o chwilf rydedd**

Your mind filled with curiosity

 **Mae fy neges yn hawdd rwy'n dy garu yn gryf**

My message is simple, I'm in love with you

 **Ond mae'n nhad wedi'm addo i ddyn arall**

But my father has promised me to another

Philae did not know the song, though she understood it. Those notes tingling the edges of her memories pulled at her heart, as smidgens of the Old Blood had her reminisce a life she had not lived. They came to her and told her a story, and she listened:

 _There had been a woman once_ , they said, _a long time before the sad days of wars, who sang with the merpeople as one of their own. She was beautiful, loved by her peers and her friends alike. She had been promised to a life of happiness and comfort, of undying fervor and passion from the one that had courted her for so long._

 _One day, however, she severed the bond, so suddenly that the sea rippled in shock and grief. She had fallen in love with one of the unknowing humans and followed him, turning her back to them. There was no saving her from alienation._

 **Wedi aros mor hîr cyn it ddod i fy ngwrdd**

After waiting so long before meeting with me

 **Yng nghwmni fy nhad a 'i gyfeillion**

In the company of my father and companions

 **Fe fuest yn ffôl yn rhoi cyfle i 'r gw**

You were beguiled and gave me away

 **I 'm gymryd i 'w briodi fel yr ofynodd**

To the man who asked for my hand

 _The odd couple married away from the magical world. The merpeople wept when no one could see them, for they did not want to show they cared; they were, after all, a proud people, and she had betrayed them. When they thought no one heard, though, they sang their mournful ballads. No one could understand their loss and hurt. The tides became angry, and the depths turned treacherous._

 **Blwyddyn i heno**

A year from this night

 **Blwyddyn yw y cyfnod cyfareddol**

A year is the magical time

 **Blwyddyn i heno**

A year from this night

 **Rhaid rhoi amser i 'r hud i weithio**

 **Rhaid rhoi amser i 'r hud i weithio**

The magic needs its own time

The magic needs its own time

 _A year passed, though, and all of a sudden, a wonder happened. The woman had the Old Blood sing to a new life. The merpeople feigned disinterest, but they found solace in the news. they swam far and wide to assist to the miracle. Their mourned friend had not forgotten who she was, and she had shared her gift. A bo of the fiery kind had come into the world like a shooting star, setting the sky ablaze. The wind carried the gleeful news to all that flew, that sang life and nature. The birds of all feathers rejoiced as they recognised one of their own._

 **Blwyddyn i heno**

A year from this night

 **Blwyddyn yw y cyfnod cyfareddol**

A year is the magical time

 **Blwyddyn i heno**

A year from this night

 **Rhaid rhoi amser i 'r hud i weithio**

 **Rhaid rhoi amser i 'r hud i weithio**

The magic needs its own time

The magic needs its own time

 _After some more years, a new stars shone bright. The lords of skies and hearth rumbled in approval. A girl was welcomed by the drakes and scaly beasts as one of their own. The Old Blood thrummed with vigor at the power the children held. They became heralds of a new generation._

 _The merpeople sang and sang their joy and hope. The oceans sparkled with delight, the coasts had never been more welcoming to the mariners at sea._

 **Rhaid rhoi amser i 'r hud i weithio**

 **Rhaid rhoi amser i 'r hud i weithio**

The magic needs its own time

The magic needs its own time

Philae lost herself in the soft notes and tune. The words lost themselves at the edges of her conscience, in the farthest corner of her memories where the calm reigned and appeased nightmares. She let herself be carried away into a peaceful sleep.

Time passed in a blur. She came about slowly, agonisingly so, until the moment she could define her surroundings.

The ceiling was two different shades of gray. A lighter tone for the majority of the surface, with small darker blotches where stains were. Walls fared no better; even the framed landscape poster facing her bed, a composition made of cold hues overlapping one another and forming a dreary attempt at a sunset on the beach, looked dull and depressing.

Smells assaulted and burnt her nostrils. Poorly covered by the stench of bleach, the unmistakable fragrance of _death_ wafted from under the doors and through the fibers of the sheets she laid in. No amount of washing powder or scrubbing soap could erase the distinct stink of agony and despair, of delirious sweat and overwhelming grief. It was ever present, clinging to the walls like ghosts of extinct hope. Philae shuddered when their silent wails blew over her face.

Sounds made her cringe every now and then. Elephants pounded along the corridors, pushing squeaky trolleys that sounded like someone was scratching their nails against a blackboard, or murmuring conversations that echoed in her room as if they had been screamed into her ears. Shrill beeps and thunderous clicks pierced her skull. It hurt.

She knew she was hyper-sensitive, for she had never felt things so acutely before. It was all too much at once. Her heart pounded like a hammer against a bone anvil, threatening to crack her ribs. Her eyes watered from the sheer pain she was experiencing.

Someone pounded into the room in a rush. A shapeless blob of blazing red heat jumped in front of her and rummaged next to her form with the ruckus only a loony bin could manage. A snap crackled into the air, then bliss. And silence.

Philae relaxed into the pillow in a blink, her head enveloped in thick cotton. Her thoughts became fuzzy and disappeared behind a curtain of carefree relief. The blob took the shape of a human being, with a pair of warm caramel eyes.

"Sleep, now," they said in a breeze.

Philae obeyed.

* * *

Some floors away in the same building, someone else closed their eyes, forever.

Mirio's tears were heart-wrenching to see. The third-year, normally so full of smiles and eagerness, was crumpled over the form of his mentor. The loss of Nighteye rippled through the assistance like a dark veil of desperation.

Toshinori restrained himself from breaking down. They had managed to rescue the little girl, but at what cost?

All Might's former sidekick was dead, and the Number One Hero had not even been able to help him. What worth did he have, now, if he could not even assist his closest allies and friends?

Who would be next?

Once again, it was too much. Though he cried, the blonde could not allow himself to show more grief. He could not… he had no right.

Somehow, he felt it was partly his fault. He should have been out there. He should have done something.

He had failed, again.

In the room where the fallen hero was surrounded by those who loved and respected him most, Toshinori felt out of place. Unworthy. _Disgusting._

He needed out. Away from the others. Away from their judgement.

Of course, his more reasonable side knew that no one would have blamed him, that he could not help it, and that he should not feel ashamed of what happened, for he would not have been able to change anything.

That was the problem, though. He should have. If not for his infirmity, he would have.

It was not Izuku's burden, and yet the boy had shouldered it and suffered the consequences. He could have _died_ , too, had Aizawa not stopped the girl's Quirk at the last minute. He was too young for that, it was too soon.

The retired hero had promised Mrs Midoriya he would look after his heir and he had failed both of them. Was failing the only thing he was good at, nowadays?

Unable to look at the others any longer, Toshinori left the room in a hurry. No one kept him back, probably thinking he needed some time alone. He was, in fact, but not for the only reason they believed.

He was disgusted with himself. He wanted to hide in a hole and die there. He escaped the nurses' sorry glances and advised his options.

Staying in the corridor was no good. There were too many people coming and going, too many possible encounters. He wanted to see none of his acquaintances, and even less of his closer relations.

Hiding in the lavatories was a loud no, as was locking himself in his office at UA. His colleagues would not bother him, but students would end up knowing he was there, and get worried. Maybe they would check on him, which he did not wish.

Going home sounded tempting, but he decided against it. As paradoxical as it appeared, he dreaded it. Only unrest awaited him there. The emptiness, the silence, though he longed for them, would probably swallow him whole and never let him back. Facing his failures, he would only stare into a bottomless abyss of self-hatred. He doubted he would survive that.

Besides, a masochistic part of himself refused to let him leave like a coward, he had to take care of stuff somehow. Show that he was present, even if his mind was adrift. Maybe he could help, alleviate that heavy burden of shame he carried. Anything to allow him a look at himself in the mirror without seeing a soulless shell.

Since when had he been so weak in front of adversity? It seemed he had done nothing worth aside from Philae's integration…

Realization suddenly hit him.

The _was_ somewhere he could be useful. Or at least, not unwelcome.

Somewhere he could possibly let go…

It was stupid, but it was all he had. With a few brisk strides, Toshinori went to a nurse.

* * *

Philae woke back up in darkness. Grays became blues, with touches of artificial orange and yellow. Colours had come back to her.

Sounds were back to normal, too, though the smells still lingered strongly around her. Whatever had made her a mess was dissipating.

A rustle alerted her of someone else's presence, followed by muffled sobs. Philae strained her ears and neck towards the sad noises, making out a tuft of golden hair in the corner of her vision. With great effort, she managed to turn her head a little more. An unkempt, ruffled blonde mane pooled at her side, tickling her exposed skin, masking the face buried into her mattress and muffling the sniffles. Around the hair, bony arms quivered as they were raked with sobs.

Her heart wrenched painfully into her chest. Why did this person cry? What did she do?

One of their hands clenched into a fist, gripping the sheets like a lifeline. They raised their heads slowly, puffy eyes revealing depths of unfathomable grief. Ocean blue wavered in a storm of emotions, reason cast adrift into the turmoil. They were disoriented, lost into their own mind.

Philae felt the urge to reach out for them - _him_ -. It was All Might, her brain screamed at her, and he needed help.

Her limbs weighed tons and refused to move. Frustration and anxiety welled up in her throat.

Her link quivered, rekindling with a foreign and yet familiar sensation, which warmed up her whole being and vibrated in her core.

A rumble escaped her throat. Low and strangled, it came out as a gurgled whine for a few seconds, before it evened out and resonated like a purr.

All Might shook so violently that he became a blur for an instant. His wide eyes riveted on her. Realization hit him like a wall of bricks and had him flail around in a clumsy attempt at hiding his tears.

"Shit," he hissed, rubbing his nose and cheeks frantically, mortified at being caught in an episode of weakness.

The former hero retrieved his handkerchief and blew his nose, gaining a few precious seconds to recollect himself before he had to face his young student again.

 _Why the hell did I think coming here was a good idea?_ he wondered.

The answer was obvious, although he refused to admit it. It hurt too much to think about it.

His gaze found Philae's worried one briefly, and guilt weighed his already shattered and sunken heart further down. Of course the girl did not understand. How could she?

Toshinori grimly noted that she, at least, did not sport that void look any longer. Her pupils were sporting a reptilian-like look, although they seemed to get more human by the second. The effects of _Trigger_ were wearing down, and soon few traces of its devastating effects would be seen anymore. That was good, and a small consolation.

He desperately needed some kind of solace right now.

The eyes of his former sidekick flashed in his mind, glazed over, lifeless, and yet so hopeful it hurt, and Toshinori almost bawled his own out again. He would not, however. He had already done that twice.

Whoever had once said that crying helped, had lied. Once he was alone in the room, seated next to the sleeping form of Philae, he had lost it and broken down. After rounds of soaking his handkerchief with snot and tears, however, he did not feel even remotely better at seeing Nighteye die in front of him and _doing nothing_. He felt his inner walls and certainties crumble, one idea after another, as his world slowly sank into chaos.

If only he had not been stupid and gotten wounded.

If only he had remained the Symbol of Peace.

If only he could have been _better…_ No one would have been in danger. Not his mentor, not Midoriya, not even Nighteye.

He felt like crying again, eyes burning as raw emotions clawed their way out of his armor.

The retired hero had done his best to keep up with the image of anchoring strength he appeared to be, for Izuku. Young Midoriya, plagued with remorse at not being able to save his second mentor and Mirio's most important figure, did not need a pitiful teacher crying like a baby on top of that. He needed a reliable adult. He needed his family. Toshinori, though extremely sad and shedding uncontrollable tears, had played the part of the responsible one.

In front of his young heir, he felt like he should show a bit of an example, even if he deceived no one. He wanted to prove himself he could do this.

He could not do much anymore now. And as great as his shame was to look like a chipmunk with a runny nose in front of Philae, it was still better than standing before his colleagues like nothing had happened, like he was not guilty of this. She did not know, and he had felt it was alright.

As strange as it sounded to him, he believed he could look for what he needed most with her. Companionship, support, human warmth. Things he could seldom ask from his coworkers, as they were already busy handling their own share of shit, or Tsukauchi, the police officer being buried under so much work and sleepless nights that he deserved some respite.

Philae was here, though. Oblivious to the tragedy, caring and strong. Worried and confused, but instinctively reaching out to him. Ever-present, watching without contempt in her odd eyes, and _purring_.

Toshinori took a few seconds to wrap his mind around what was happening. It sounded unsure, gravelly, more lion than cat, but inexplicably soft so as not to be frightening. It was deep, not too loud, and sent undulating waves resonating somewhere below his ribcage. His heart leaped in his chest.

It happened like that in the tent, only now it was louder, steadier, voluntary. He raked his brain to make sense of it, then remembered something. Aizawa, who loved felines to a fault and sometimes talked about them - one of the few conversational subjects the dark-haired male was keen on talking about -, had once said that purring was a means to reassure others or themselves when in distress. Was it a particularity dragons possessed as well?

Was Philae trying to calm him down?

The room and corridors were silent, save for the odd rumbles that the young woman produced. It permeated Toshinori's skin, found its way through his cracked façade, enveloped his battered body and spirit into a pleasant cocoon. The bleak street lights outside looked a little livelier, brighter. His heart stuttered and evened out, his thoughts halted and got blessedly calm.

He was glad to be here. Upset, too, and a little embarrassed to take advantage of the situation, but he had found what he had been looking for. His sadness was lifted just a little; it relieved him immensely. It was a wonder, really, how well he felt with her around. How he could be himself, the man, as tired and miserable as he was.

Maybe it was because she did not come from here, and therefore would not judge him based on what he had once been. He repeated himself, but it was the only reason he could objectively think of. That would have been the main difference between her and Midoriya, for the latter practically idolized him and All Might. Even if Toshinori _was_ All Might, he was not really; not anymore. He feared that his heir refused to see that hard truth, the fact that his hero disappeared. Only ashes remained of the passionate torch of justice he had held so high for all those years. Philae did not care whatsoever, and even though she tried to persuade him into seeing something that definitely did not exist, she saw beyond the poster smiles and marketing image. She sought _him_ out.

Maybe he was getting delusional here. His mind was clouded by crippling low self-confidence and loathe towards himself, but he still hawked at any sign, any token of affection she might show him. Toshinori was not as oblivious as not to see she appreciated him, though he could not fathom why, or to what extent. She was just open to her feelings and he did not question them further. Maybe he should. The League of Villains did not target her for nothing, and it became clear it was All Might they were after, through her. They had definitely seen, or thought they saw, something going on between the retired hero and his student, which proved dangerous for her. Guilt reared back its ugly head. He hated the idea she got into trouble because of his past self.

 _I'm getting senile…_

Toshi had to admit it: he was getting attached, far too greatly. He loved Philae's smiles so much that he might come to look out for them and try to get them more often. He was fascinated by her, her power, her inner strength. He was impressed by her hardships, her pulling through so much for someone so young.

He was the one behind, now. The useless piece of trash lying around.

Philae struggled to sit, her features strained by the effort. She winced, and Toshinori scrambled to get her back down on the mattress.

"No, no, don't," he urged her, "you need to rest."

She shot him a concerned look, ignoring her condition as she tried to resist him. Her trembling hands came up to grasp weakly at his arms, but her fingers only brushed against his skin before they fell back at her sides. Her chocolate irises flashed with frustration, then became pleading as she turned her attention back to him.

His heart beat faster. She, too, was troubling herself for him. Why did he get so much care from people, as he did not deserve it?

The former hero made a face.

"You silly girl…" he chastised kindly.

She huffed in reply, gaze questioning. His face fell a little, before he shook himself and applied the tiniest pressure on her shoulders.

"You don't need to strain yourself, I'll explain."

She looked unsure. Eventually, though, she sagged on the bed and gurgled a groan. Satisfied, Toshinori let her go and sat back down, rubbing his hands against each other.

Silence stretched between them. Philae resumed her purring. It helped anchoring him and he found the will to speak.

"I'll sound whiny," he mumbled.

Then, louder, he said with a shaky voice, "I'm sorry, I… Shit's happened, lately."

He rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. All of a sudden, he noticed the girl's eyes darkened with regret, and he flailed to reassure her.

"N-no, nothing about you," he swore, "not like that, just…"

He faltered.

"A mission went awry," he announced, throat squeezing around his words, "Nighteye… a great hero didn't make it."

The purring intensified. He focused on the soothing sound waves, looking straight ahead.

"It's my fault," he blurted, tears threatening to spill once again. "I wasn't… I should have helped. He died and Young Midoriya was also in danger and… and I…"

 _And I wasn't there. I was busy hiding my sorry ass in my office, deluding myself I was useful by grading papers and doing stuff. Avoiding you, everyone I knew; refusing to admit I'm an old dumb piece of waste._

His reasons sounded hollow in his own inner mind.

"I feared seeing you too," he blurted out next. "I… I was afraid you might never be the same again. I'm sorry you were in danger because of me. I…"

His thoughts collided with one another and left him puzzled and hurt.

 _To think I judged her because of her past…_

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have come to see you sooner."

The rumbling stuttered and turned into a soft whine. Toshinori looked at the tired, beautiful face of Philae. She moved a little, and for a second he expected her to try and sit up again. She did not, however, and merely lifted up a shaking hand to him, turning it so that her palm was offered to him. He hesitated, then covered it with his own, which looked more like a gigantic paw with spidery fingers compared to hers. Her skin felt warm.

The girl smiled then, a small stretch of the lips. It appeared like the brightest grin to him. There were still tiny scales around her eyes, glowing under the artificial lights that filtered into the room. He could get addicted to that view.

"I…" he licked his chapped lips, wavering. "May I… stay? I don't feel like going to my apartment. I'll be more useful here, watching over you."

It was a lie. Cops made rounds around here to check and take testimonies, so the place was already safe, and moreover, Toshinori doubted he could have fought a villain in his state. They both knew it was not the reason.

No one questioned it, though.

Philae blinked, then seemed to glow from the inside, a loud purr answering for her, and the blonde's chest warmed up. Be it from her magic or her inner charm, he had no clue, though he would not resent the feeling. He gave off a smile of his own, even if it must have looked feeble and shaky.

After a few minutes, the young woman's purring subsided, and her eyes closed. Her breathing evened out. She fell asleep. Her face, soft and open, looked even more adorable.

Toshinori leaned down and stroked her hair with his free hand. His fingers combed through her brown thick breadths, touch light and tender so as not to wake her. She leaned into his palm in her slumber, letting out a happy gurgle. He could not help his smile, then.

Suddenly, out of impulse, he leaned down and pressed a small kiss on her temple. His lips brushed against the scales there, smooth and soft and warm. He lingered just a second too long, before his reason caught him and made him lean back against the plastic chair.

His face scrunched up in guilt. He was getting attached, and for a moment it scared him shitless.

Just for a moment, though. As Philae had appeased his mind by her presence alone, tiredness overcame his thoughts and silenced them. That was a problem for future him, it seemed.

Toshinori tried to find a comfortable position and let himself drift off.

* * *

 **Phew, I feel it's been a struggle to get Toshi to do something, ugh!**

 **By the way, I said I don't want to write underage smut, and technically I won't. However, the question of underage is blurred as regards Philae because 1) she was born a looooong time ago, so in years she's older than All Might, but 2) in spirit, she's more or less between a teen and a adult, depending on the matters she broaches.**

 **My question is: as regards underage, do you think it is okay I wait for Philae to "mature"?**

 **To me, consent comes with personal development, not only written age. I won't come to actual smut - meaning, people getting naked - until she's not at least 'ready' in her mind, which is not so far away. In fact, Philae is more mature than all her classmates - except Todoroki and Momo - 'cause of her childhood. But still.**

 **Anyway, thanks for your support!**


End file.
